Weakness
by JacquelineKennedy
Summary: Erin and Jay find themselves in a dangerous situation. "I have met brave men before, Mr. Halstead. And I'm sorry to break it to you but every single one of them had a weakness I could exploit".
1. Chapter 1

**This is the first part of a three part fanfic. I hope you like it!**

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"Please tell me you have seen the new Star Wars trailer". Halstead asked his partner as he used the bolt cutter to cut the padlock that hold the gate closed.

"Nope". Erin watched the padlock fall to the ground and quietly pushed the gate open. They were following a tip from one of Voight's CIs but the warehouse looked empty. "Wait. Is there a new Star Wars movie?"

"Oh my God. My partner lives under a rock". Jay made an incredulous face and started walking towards the door.

"Shut up. I just don`t have much free time".

"Hey I work just as much as you do and I still know that they are making a new Star Wars movie".

"Nerd".

"Workaholic". Jay scoffed.

"All I am saying is that ...". Lindsay trailed off as they heard a small noise inside the warehouse as they approached the door. "We should call it in". She whispered.

"It looks empty. It could be nothing".

"It could be something".

"Let`s just take a look first".

After a brief debating moment Erin nodded her head and took her gun out of the holster. Jay mimicked her and with his other hand turned the metal knob. The door slid open easily.

Both detectives entered the warehouse slowly and quietly. From the inside it looked very plain and normal. There were a few rows of brown boxes loaded on pallets and a forklift truck. No one was around. Erin made her way to the first aisle and Jay followed her.

"Wasn`t it shut down by the government? Shouldn`t it be completely empty?". Jay whispered while eyeing the brown boxes.

"Yes it should". Erin free hand ran over one of the boxes. "Let`s get out and warn Voight".

Jay felt the cold metal of the pistol on the back of his neck one second before he heard the low voice behind him. "Drop your weapons".

Not putting his gun down his eyes frantically searched for Lindsay. Without moving too much he could see that she was in a mirrored situation: frozen with a gun pointed directly to her head. This was bad. How could they get jumped? How did they not see it coming?

"You're making a mistake". Jay warned hoping that he could use their status as cops to get out of the situation.

"You don`t want to do this. We're CPD". Erin seemed to read his thoughts.

"I don`t care. DROP IT". The voice sounded again from behind Jay, this time more commanding.

Lindsay reacted first, putting the safety on and slowly crouching to put her Glock on the floor. The sound of the heavy metal connecting with the concrete reverberated thought the warehouse sending a chill down Jay's spine.

The man holding the gun to his neck spoke again. "Good girl. Now your turn".

After a few tense seconds Jay finally managed to crouch and release his fingers from the Glock. As he rose to his feet again he felt the man remove the gun from his neck. After waiting a few cautious seconds Jay slowly turned around, his hands up on the air to not seem threatening.

There were three man dressed in plain dark clothes. They all looked distinctly foreign but Jay could not discern an accent from the man that spoke to him. All had blue eyes and fair hair. Maybe Russians? Europeans? To Jay's dismay they all looked professional.

One of the men kept a good distance pointing a M4 carbine in their general direction. He seemed tense and ready to shoot. The other one was still pointing a gun at Erin's head. He was really big. Big as in UFC-heavyweight-big. The one who spoke was smaller than the other two but seemed to be on command. He gave a nod to the big UFC one and the man put his gun away.

Erin turned around with her hands in the air mimicking Jay. Before both of them could get any funny ideas the third man pointed the M4 directly at them. That was a warning: move and I'll shoot.

Without saying anything the larger man started to roughly pat Jay down looking for concealed weapons. After not finding any he smashed Jay's phone one the ground, took his wallet and started to search Erin. His hands traveled her lithe body staying a little too long on some places. Jay could sense that she was fighting hard with her temper to not react.

After finishing the man crashed her phone with his boot, took her wallet and closed the distance between them whispering sweetly on her ear. "Enjoying it darling?".

Lindsay in a very Lindsay-fashion harshly pushed the guy away from her and snarled. "Fuck you, asshole".

The man's face instantly got red and he seemed ready to charge but before he could react the smaller man intervened. "Did you call for back up?".

The question was directed at Jay but he remained emotionless. Erin and the big guy seemed to be on a defying staring contest. The man asking the questions gave a signal with his head and in an instant the larger one grabbed Erin's wrist, pulled her to his chest one pushed his gun hard against her temple making her flinch.

The smaller one looked directly at Jay and spoke a second time. "Let me ask again. Did you call for back up before entering the building?".

Jay used all of his self-restraint to not punch the man right there. He opted for lying. "Yes".

"Great to know. Now let`s take a walk gentleman… and lady".

He walked towards a rusty metal door on the end of the warehouse. Before Jay could protest the M4 guy walked behind him pointing the gun to his back.

"I'm serious man. You don`t want to do this. Let us go now". Jay tried to argue again but only felt a push from the gun on his back.

"Move and you're dead". The M4 man warned with a low voice. No distinguished accent either.

Erin and Jay traded a look and silently decided to obey and keep quiet for now as they were clearly outmatched. They also had no information about the enemy. They were completely blind_. Stupid, stupid, stupid._

The UFC guy took a plastic wrap from his pocket and cuffed Erin's wrists together. He did the same to Jay's. It was uncomfortably tight and already started hurting their skin.

Jay exchanged another quick look with Erin. She seemed calmer and more collected than him on the exterior but he knew her enough to understand that it was a façade. He could see in her eyes the same panic that he was feeling. They did not call for back up before entering the warehouse and it would take a while for Voight to notice that something was not right.

The UFC guy grabbed Jay and Erin's arm, one on each hand, and began roughly dragging them towards the rusty door where the smaller man was waiting for them. After knocking two times he opened the door and entered the room followed by the UFC man dragging both detectives. The M4 guy stayed outside.

The room they entered was spacious and had only a small metal desk with four metal chairs on the middle. There was a man seating at it looking at some blue prints and laptop. He looked up at the interruption. He seemed older than the other guys and he was dressed with expensive and formal clothes. Jay noticed that he also seemed foreigner with the same blue eyes and fair hair.

"Look what I found lurking around, boss". The smaller man kicked Jay's legs and he fell to the ground ungracefully landing on his knees. The big guy did the same to Erin and she also fell to her knees.

The older man got up from his chair and walked towards the incomers. He was smiling somberly. The smaller man handed him the detective's wallets.

"Well, hello there…". He opened each wallet and read the information inside. "Detectives Halstead and Lindsay from the CPD intelligence unit. What a pleasure".

He proceeded to throw the wallets away at the metal table and positioned himself right in front of the hostages. He moved his hand thought his sleeked back hair.

"They say they already called for back up so I recommend moving this operation elsewhere as soon as possible, boss. Even if they're lying there's a chance someone will notice their absence and would come looking". The smaller man commented.

"Alright. Prepare everything, Matei. We're leaving in 5".

The small man nodded and left the room leaving the two detectives with the UFC guy and the boss.

"I'm curious. How did you get here? Who gave you this address? What were you after?". He asked them with amused eyes. This situation was clearly entertaining for him.

Jay and Erin remained quiet knowing that this was probably going to end badly. What should they say? Lie? The truth?

"Not going to talk to me? That`s rude". He gave a small nod and the UFC guy forcibly got Jay to his feet holding him by his arm. Jay tried to squirm out of the man's grasp but he was too strong. The movements only made the plastic restrainers hurt more the skin on his wrists.

"We know nothing about you or your operation here". Erin offered before they could do any damage to Jay. Getting beat up was not going to help them now. Maybe a truthful answer would satisfy the man. Just maybe. "We were just following some CI's tip and ended up here. It's all just an unfortunate coincidence".

The man clicked his thong loudly and smirked in her direction. "Too bad for you that I don`t believe in coincidences".

"You seem like a smart man so think for a second. Do you really believe that we would enter here without the SWAT team if we knew that we would find you guys inside? We're police but we're not crazy". Lindsay tried to reason with him, her raspy voice sounding imposing.

"This could be a trap. Getting in here and making us confess something. Are they wearing any wires or tracers?".

The UFC man spoke for the first time that evening. "We didn't find anything but we also don't have any detector here to make sure".

"Humm. Take your belts, badges, bulletproof vests and shoes off please. And empty your pockets". The man commanded.

Jay and Erin did as he asked. The UFC men picket the discarded items from the ground, took it all outside and came back. The older man seemed satisfied for an instant before he resumed his questioning. "What's your CI name? What case are you investigating?"

The detectives shared a look. They could not give the CI real name or any other information about the drug case they were investigating. If the man indeed had any connection to the cartel they were after this could go south any second. They would have to lie.

"They call him Goose but his name is Pete Mitchell". Jay invented using the first names that came to his mind. _Thank you Top Gun_. "He gave us this address saying that there was some word on the street about something going down here. That`s all we know".

The man sighted loudly. "Sure it is. No one knows about this place so if I were you I would reconsider my answer quickly, Mr. Halstead. I'm not a man of patience and this is the last time I'm asking nicely".

"Look, the CI is not important. We were just chasing a lead as my partner already told you so if you don't want any trouble with the Chicago Police Department I advise you to let us go right now". Jay changed tactics making his voice sound more commanding and powerful. Maybe they should play the intimidation card.

He only realized this was a wrong move when the boss punched him straight on his stomach.

Jay recovered quickly and spat at the man. "Screw you". They could try and beat it out of him but he was not going to collaborate willingly in any manner. Maybe he could distract them long enough so Erin could create a plan to get them out of there.

The man smiled amused as if he was not expecting anything different. The UFC guy let go of Jay's arm and quickly punched him hard on his ribs. Jay was not expecting such a strong blow and his eyes watered as he felt a sharp pain and heard a loud cracking noise. This was so much worst than the first punch. He immediately fell to the floor on his knees hissing in pain. The man had broken some of his ribs with a single well-directed punch. Before Jay could recover the UFC man hit him again on the same spot with another astonishing hard blow that made him see stars.

That guy was no joke. He knew exactly were to hit and his punch was as strong as being hit with concrete block.

Halstead heard some shouting and commotion as Erin probably tried to get up and fight the UFC guy but Jay was focusing on his pain and on breathing. Each breath hurt like hell. Once it subdued a little he was able to focus again on boss man in front of him.

"You think you are a tough man, right?". He asked Jay. "I can see by the way you act that you've been in the army. Correct? So you think that you can handle anything, any pain I can inflict on you".

Jay remained quiet, his jaw locked. He could see that the UFC man was forcibly making Erin knee again to the floor, her wrists still behind her back. She seemed unharmed so Jay focused on the man in front of him.

"I've met brave man before, Mr. Halstead. And I'm sorry to break it to you but every single one of them had a weakness I could exploit". His eyes moved quickly to the only woman in the room. "And I have a sense I already know what your weakness is".

Before Jay could react the UFC man punched Erin hard on her right temple. Her head was thrown to the side and she immediately fell to the ground with a loud thud.

Jay saw red and tried to get up shouting obscenities at everyone but the boss man was already at his side pressing a handgun to his cracked ribs and making him stay down.

The UFC guy grabbed Erin by her hair and made her stand on her knees again. She looked around a little disoriented as the incredibly hard punch had almost knocked her out of it. There was a small but deep laceration at her eyebrow where the punch had landed that was bleeding profusely. The man took a hunting knife from his belt and pressed it to Erin's blooded cheek.

"We wouldn't want to mess more with such a beautiful face, right Mr. Halstead?".

"No". Jay answered almost breathless knowing how to pick his battles.

"Now that we understand each other, tell me how you got this address".

Before Jay could speak again he heard two knocks on the door followed by the small man called Matei entering the room. He didn't even spare a look on the detective's direction.

"We should go now boss. Everything is ready".

The boss nodded at Matei and somberly smiled at the detectives. "Take them out, Yoel".

Before Jay could even process what was happening he felt a sharp pain on the back of his neck and he blacked out.

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**Thank you for reading! I really hope you liked it. Should I post the next 2 parts? Please leave a review to let me know!**

Oh and I`m sorry about the Star Wars and Top Gun references. The nerd in me couldn't resist.

p.s. English is not my first language so please excuse any grammar mistakes!


	2. Chapter 2

**Thank you so much for the amazing support! I was prepared to write a three chapter story but since you seemed to really enjoy it I`ll consider writing more. Let`s see if you guys like this chapter.**

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Voight stood frozen at the center of the warehouse with his hands tucked inside the front of his bulletproof vest. His mind was working too fast and his thoughts were not clear. Erin and Jay were experienced detectives and would not get jumped easily. _How the fuck could this happen?_

He watched the uniformed police search the area. Almost half of the officers from District 21 were working on the case. Everyone liked the missing detectives and wanted to help.

Ruzek and Alvin approached Voight. They were carrying two bulletproof vests and some other belongings. Voight's heart skipped a beat at the sight of Erin's last name on the right side of the vest.

"We found this on a trash can outside". Alvin handed the Sargent a black leather wallet and a badge. Voight immediately recognized both as being Erin's. Wordlessly he opened the wallet and checked inside. The first thing he noticed was an old photo tucked on the plastic insert. It was taken at her first Christmas with the Voights and it showed her, him, Camille and Justin beside a Christmas tree. All smiling and wearing Christmas themed pajamas.

The Sargent stood still staring at the photo, a blank look on his face. An overwhelming feeling of guilt took over his mind. _Why had he sent her there? Why didn't he come to check the place with them? _

Finally he defrosted and checked for money and credit cards. It was all there so it was definitely not a robbery. He sighted and looked over at Ruzek and Alvin who were watching him with caution.

"I want every inch of this place scanned. I want clues. I want a lead and a suspect RIGHT NOW". He yelled the last part; his husky voice reverberating through the warehouse.

Ruzed nodded his head and quickly left, not wanting to be too close to the sergeant when he was furious. Voight was already too scary on a normal day.

"You need to keep your head straight, Hank". Al put a hand on his shoulder. "Erin and Jay need you to be on your ace game right now".

Voight looked at his friend eyes, took a deep breath and curtly nodded. "I know".

"There's something else". Alvin diverted his eyes to the floor and Voight instantly prepared himself for bad news. "There was some blood on the floor inside that room". He pointed at a metal door by the end of the warehouse. "Not too much and not life threatening. The blood spatter pattern analyst says it was from a beating. Probably a hard punch to the face but he need to do more tests. He is going to compare it to Jay and Erin's blood samples at the system but there's a chance it could be from the criminals".

Voight pursed his lips together. "Make him work fast. I want the results within the hour".

Alvin nodded and asked an officer who was passing close by. "Where is Morgan?"

"The blood guy? He is outside". Alvin thanked the man and went to look for the analyst.

Hank stood at the middle of the large room alone. He fixed his eyes on Erin`s badge and made a silent promise to her: he was going to find her and he was going to make whoever did this pay. He was Hank Voight and this was his city.

* * *

Erin was the first to regain conscience. Before she even opened her eyes she felt the splitting headache. _What the hell happened?_ She also felt dizzy, nauseous and extremely thirsty. She tried to open her eyes but they didn't comply. She tried moving her arms but her body seemed detached from her brain. Her memory from the past hours was also gone making her feel extremely confused.

After a few moments she was able to calm her erratic breath and slowly force her eyelids open. A dark and humid room greeted her. _Where was she? How did she get here?_

Her blurred vision made it even more difficult to understand her surroundings. The room seemed empty. Blinking a few times made her vision clear a little making it possible for her to identify a body a few feet away to her right: Jay. He was unconscious and lying face down to the concrete floor.

Suddenly she regained her memory. They were checking a warehouse and got jumped by some blue-eyed men.

Filled with panic she started to concentrate in trying to move around. They needed to get out of there. She soon realized that her arms and legs were tied tightly to a metal chair preventing any movement. Moving any millimeter caused an agonizing burst of pain to her sore wrists. After a few failed attempts to loosen the rope she decided to wake Jay up.

"Jay". She whispered. "Jay!". She tried again more loudly and watched his body flinch and heard his breathing picking up. "Jay, look at me".

He whimpered and tried to move around. His hands were tied behind his back to a vertical pole. After a few moments he sat on a better position, opened his blue eyes and focused them on Erin, slowly gathering his bearings.

"Are you ok?". She asked, her eyes filled with concern.

"Peachy". He sarcastically answered with a hoarse voice and a small, sad smile. He was feeling horrible but would never admit it. His stomach was in flames and his breaths were short and erratic. "And you? How is your head?". He asked eyeing the dried blood on her face and the ugly bruise that was forming.

"Never better". Erin observed him for a few seconds. "We need to get out of here, Jay".

"Yeah. But where are we?".

"I have no idea. There are no windows so there is no way for us to know if it`s day or night. It`s impossible to know how long we were out".

He pondered that statement. "Do you think Voight already noticed that we went missing?".

"Probably".

Jay smiled forgetting for a moment about their dangerous situation. "Voight is going to go mad when we discovers that someone kidnaped his little girl".

"He is not my dad and I`m not a little girl". She frowned at him pretending to be offended.

The easy banter was helping to keep a good vibe between them but as soon as the silence took place more somber thoughts took over their minds. Jay focused on his breathing in order to subdue the pain and Erin focused on untying herself from the chair.

"Stop it. You`re only going to hurt yourself". Jay commanded.

She tried to free herself one last time and sighted on defeat. "I need to do something. Anything".

"Let`s list our options".

"Hmm… Ok. First is: hang on and wait for Voight. Second is: try to subdue whoever kidnaped us when we have a chance and escape".

"Can`t you go Black Widow on the chair and break it?"

She smiled at his sense of humor. "I wish but I`m not Scarlett Johansson, Jay".

He made a funny face at the comment but suddenly got serious. "How are you feeling? Answer for real this time".

Erin sighted and opted to be honest. They needed to know each other limitations in order to get out of there alive. "My vision is blurred and my head hurts like hell. Worst headache of my life".

He frowned at her. "You probably have a concussion".

"Yeah. I was thinking the same". She shrugged. "And you? Do you think your ribs are broken or just bruised?".

"Broken for sure". He moved a little in order to get more confortable but it only deepened the pain. "It hurts like hell but I can fight if needed".

Before Erin could reply they heard a noise coming from outside. After a few tense seconds the metal door opened and the boss man entered the room smiling like a Cheshire cat.

"Hello my friends. I`m glad to see both of you awake".

"You`re making a mistake". Jay hissed at him from the ground. "Our unit is going to find us and…

"Don`t be petty Mr. Halstead". The man interrupted him. "I came here to talk to you like a civilized man. Would you like me to send in Yoel so he can break the ribs on the other side?".

Jay shut his mouth.

"Great. That`s what I thought". The boss smiled again. "Now let`s talk business. I need to hear the truth about your investigation".

"We already told you the truth". Erin interjected.

"No Ms. Lindsay. You lied to me and now I want the truth".

Erin and Jay exchanged a frantic look.

"That`s the truth. And you are holding two cops against…". She started.

"Yoel!". The boss called the UFC guy. After a few moments the large man entered the room.

"Yes?".

"Our new friends decline to cooperate. Maybe you could help me convince them. You have fifteen minutes, Yoel. You can do whatever you want. Better enjoy it".

_Oh no_. _No, no, no, no._ Jay threw Erin a desperate look. He was sure he could endure a large amount of pain but he wasn't so certain about watching Erin get hurt. That would kill him.

"Sure thing boss".

The boss man left the room with an amusing glint in his eyes. Yoel waited to hear the door close and after a few tense seconds walked towards Jay. Without notice he pressed his foot hard on the detective`s injured ribs. Jay flinched and let out an audible breath.

"Did I hit you too hard, detective?". Yoel teased.

Halstead ignored him and focused on the pain. He was in agony. The pressure of the foot was making it impossible to breath.

Yoel seemed to notice the level of pain he was inflicting and pressed even harder. "Are you going to cry? You Americans are such cry-babies".

Jay remained quiet, not wanting to encourage the man.

"You`re pathetic. I bet you`ll be screaming when I`m finished with you".

"Stop it!". Erin yelled at the man while trying desperately to get out of the chair.

Suddenly Yoel lift his foot and kicked Jay on the chin. The detective felt the back of his head connect with the concrete wall behind him. Everything went black for a few seconds. Jay spit the blood from his mouth to the dirty floor and groggily watched Yoel predatorily approach Erin.

"I bet you`re going to be more fun, darling".

"Get away from her". Jay snarled between painful restrained breaths.

Yoel walked behind her and put his huge hands on her shoulders. Erin tried desperately to move but the ropes kept her in place.

"What can you do about it detective?". The large man taunted.

"I swear to God that I`ll murder you if you lay your dirty hand on her again".

"Oh, like this?" Yoel hands traveled slowly from her shoulders to her face. He tenderly put his index finger over her injured temple for a few seconds before pushing it down hard while watching Jay`s reaction. Erin squirmed a little but kept quiet.

Jay was seeing red again. "I`ll end you. I swear to G…".

Yoel interrupted him by taking out the knife from his belt and pushing to Erin`s exposed neck. Instantly a thin red line formed where the blade was touching the skin and a small trail of blood started descending to her collarbone.

"You`ll do what?"

Jay bit his thong hard and shut his mouth. He started trembling from the rage building inside his body.

"Do it". Erin challenged him. "Kill me"

Yoel laughed at her defiance. "No".

_Was she mad?_ _Had she gone insane after the blow to the head?_ He shook his head at her. _No, Erin. No. _

She decided to ignore Jay`s silent plea and continued. "Coward". The more Yoel`s attention was on her; the less it was on Jay. That was her current plan of action.

Instead of falling into her trap the large man started to laugh even harder. "You`re turning me on. I like feisty beautiful women".

She turned her head to the side, trying to put some distance between it and his dirty hands. "Fuck you". She hissed.

He stopped laughing and a somber expression took over his face. "You have a potty mouth whore. Maybe I can teach you a lesson".

Without any warning he cut the ropes that were tying Erin`s wrists to the chair. With another fluid move he cut the ones tying her legs and abruptly pulled her to her feet. The sudden movement made her head spin and she fought a wave of nausea.

Yoel used her temporary lost of balance to throw her small body strongly against a wall. She hit the concrete and fell to the ground, her left wrist making a loud pop noise as it tried to brake her fall. Yoel didn`t waste time dropping the knife on the floor and jumping her, pinning her down with his strong legs.

He was too focused on subduing the woman beneath his body that he did not noticed that she had kicked his knife in the direction of the other man in the room.

Jay used his feet to bring the knife closer to his body and started to work on freeing himself from the restraints. It was a difficult task since both his hands were tied to the pole but the sound of the fight on the other side of the room made him do it quickly.

Erin tried every move she knew to get the large man off her but failed every time. He was just too big and too strong. Her now injured wrist was not helping much either.

"Not so smug now are we? I`ll…".

Yoel didn`t get to finish the sentence as Jay freed himself and used the knife to slid Yoel`s throat open. The man gagged a little on the blood, fighting to stay alive but soon enough he collapsed over Erin. The blood pouring from the open wound showered her.

Jay desperately pushed the huge body aside and sat down beside Erin. His hands immediately roamed over her body looking for injuries. "Are you ok? Did he hurt you? There`s so much blood I can`t…"

"It`s not my blood, Jay. I`m fine". She assured him, pushed his hand aside and got up from the floor. The movement made her head spin again and she inhaled a few short, hard breaths to keep from vomiting. Jay put a hand on her shoulder and waited. After the nausea subdued she faced him. "We need to get out of here".

Jay grabbed the knife he had used to slit Yoel`s throat while Erin checked the body for other weapons. She found none. The knife was all they had.

"Do you think it`s open?" Jay whispered to her as they approached the metal door.

Erin didn`t respond. She reached for the knob and slowly turned it down. The door was unlocked. She motioned to him: 3, 2, 1… and opened the door quickly only to come face to face with the barrel of a handgun.

"Hello fellas! Going somewhere?". Matei smiled at them. "Drop the knife".

Jay hesitated for only a second and dropped the weapon on the floor, lifting his hands on the air. They could not afford to get shot and Matei looked very comfortable with the gun on his hand; his grip was steady and strong.

"Good. Now kick it to me and step back into the room".

Jay complied with a grimace on his face. Matei kicked the knife far away in the direction of the corridor and kept the gun pointed at the detectives.

"Boss! You should come here". He called and a few seconds later the boss arrived at the door. His eyes traveled from his hostages to Yoel's body on the floor.

"I'm not surprised. Yoel was strong, but he was not the smartest man". He smiled politely showing no emotion at the death of his employee. "And you thought you could escape. Very cute… and naive. I`m not like the low life criminals you are used to deal with, so please do not underestimate me".

"Who are you?". Erin asked, her voice low and challenging.

"Wouldn't you like to know, Ms. Lindsay?". He looked straight at her in a creepy way. "Let's just say I'm a very successful businessman".

"And your business is trafficking drugs". Jay provided, trying to get as much information as they could from the man.

The man`s eyes widened at Jay`s words. "Oh, you are very far from the truth, Mr. Halsted. And I thought detectives were supposed to be smart. But don't worry my friends. You shouldn`t spend your last hours alive concerned about my business". With that last statement he nodded to Matei and left the room.

Matei waited for him to close the door and looked at the detectives, gun pointed directly at them. With his other hand he grabbed two transparent plastic seals from his back pocket. He tossed one at Erin`s foot.

"Tie your partner up. Hands behind his back".

Erin got the seal from the floor and put it on Jay wrists. She opted to not close it too tightly. "Done".

"Now make it tighter". He pointed the gun directly at her head. Erin sighted and did as told. "Great. Now it`s your turn. Put your hands behind your back and come closer to me". He looked at Jay straight in the eye. "If you move I blow her goddam brains out".

Erin approached the man slowly with her hands behind her back and he quickly tied them together with the plastic seal.

"Now let`s take a walk, detectives".

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**Next chapter: Voight gets a bigger role + a cute Linstead moment + a lot more of drama.**

**How was it? If you did enjoy it please leave a review letting me know and I`ll write more than 3 chapters.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hello everyone! Thank you for the support on the last chapter. From now on this is officially a multi chapter fic!**

**Sorry for the delay on this chapter. I was traveling and had no computer to write. I`ll try my best to upload a new chapter every FRIDAY from now on.**

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Matei escorted Erin and Jay from the room into a large garage where a black van waited for them. Jay took a good look around before being roughly pushed inside the vehicle. The building they were being held looked like an old abandoned factory but Jay did not recognize the place or the surroundings.

The inside of the van was different from the commercial ones. It only had two benches pushed against the interior metallic walls. Jay sat on the bench to his right with difficulty. His ribs were killing him and his arms were tied on his back. Erin was pushed inside and sat right in front of him. They exchanged a worried glance.

Matei said a few words in another language to the driver and sat on the back with the detectives. They waited for a minute and suddenly another man entered the back of the van caring a shovel. He closed the door and the van started moving. The back windows were tinted so Jay couldn`t see anything outside.

He closed his eyes and took a long breath. _A shovel?_ _They were going to kill us and bury the bodies. Oh, no. We are going to die. We are going to die_. _We are going to die_. No! This couldn`t be it. He had so much to do, so much to experience, so many places to go. Oh God, he needed to calm down and think about their options.

His eyes opened and focused on his partner. She was keeping her eyes glued to the floor. She looked roughed up and tired, her clothes covered in Yoel`s dried blood. His eyes scanned her beaten body with a mixture of sadness and anger. Suddenly a morbid thought crossed his mind: he would never get a chance to tell her how he felt. Their "one day" would never come.

He would never kiss her, never feel the warmth of her soft skin against his, never wake up next to her. He would never "accidentally" bump into her in the precinct again, never complaint about not being able to drive again, never watch a Bulls game together on her couch with pizza and beer again. The realization hit him hard and before he could contain himself he called her.

"Erin…".

She looked up quickly sensing the desperation on his voice.

"I need to tell you… Umm… Just in case…".

"Shut up". Matei growled at him.

"I- I love you". He blurted and Erin`s eyes widened, her mouth dropped open. "I`ve loved you sin-".

Matei interrupted him. "I SAID THE FUCK SHUT UP!".

Erin looked shocked for a second and Jay started to get nervous. Maybe he had misinterpreted her actions. Maybe she only liked him as a friend. Maybe this was not the best time to confess his love for her. Maybe…

"I love you too". She told him, her raspy voice sounding more appealing than ever. Her soft eyes glued on his as she opened a small sad smile.

Matei took out a handgun from the waist of his pants and pointed at Jay`s right knee. "Stop with the love confessions or I`ll shoot both of your knees".

Jay remained silent, never taking his eyes from his partner. There was so much he wanted to tell her, so much he wanted to do with her. She nodded at him letting him know that she understood, that she felt the same.

* * *

Nadia climbed the stairs two at a time with an envelope in her hands. She hoped to God that the information inside it would help find her friends. "Alvin!".

Olinski immediately got up from his chair and grabbed the envelope from her hands. Not opening it yet he rushed into the interrogation room. Voight was inside interrogating the CI that gave the tip that led Erin and Jay to the warehouse.

Without knocking Alvin opened the door. "You need to see this".

"I`ll be right back". Voight told the man he was interrogating and left the room. He was not getting anywhere with the questioning anyway. He silently followed Alvin into his office and closed the door.

"Morgan just delivered his blood report". He handed the envelope to the Sargent.

Hank opened it without missing a beat. _Bloodstain Pattern Analysis report – DNA match (99%): Lindsay, Erin. Detective on the 21__st__ District, Chicago Police Department. _

Voight cursed under his breath, punched his desk with his right hand and tossed the paper on the trash. He was going to murder whoever dared to hurt Erin. He was going to make them pay.

Alvin stood awkwardly watching his friend harsh reaction and waiting for information. "It's Erin's". Voight finally told him with a strained voice.

The detective scowled and slowly sat at a chair nearby. He was hoping that the blood belonged to whoever kidnapped Jay and Erin so they could ID the guy.

"The older owner of the warehouse was a dead end. Ruzek just checked and he came out clean. And Atwater has been trying to tie the kidnap to the case we were investigating but nothing has appeared so far. Maybe they were just on the wrong place at the wrong time". Alvin suggested.

"Maybe. I`ve been pressing the CI for about an hour now. He knows nothing either. He just heard some rumors on the street and told us about it in order to get paid. He can`t even give us a name".

"Antonio checked the CPD street cameras on the neighborhood. The closest one from the warehouse is three blocks away. There were a couple of odd vehicles passing by but all of them came out clean".

Voight growled. "We have nothing, Al. Two of my detectives are missing and we have FUCKING NOTHING".

* * *

The van stopped and Matei took out his handgun. He got up, opened the back doors and got out of the vehicle.

From outside he pointed the gun on Erin`s direction, fixing his cold eyes on her. "One wrong move and I swear I`ll blow your brains out. Get out slowly, first you than your partner".

Erin got up and immediately the world started spinning. The nausea was back too. _Damn concussion! _Matei seemed to notice her difficulty and silently signaled to the man holding the shovel help her. He got up from his seat, roughly grabbed her arm with his free hand and escorted her outside the vehicle.

Soon after Jay got out of the van with some difficulty too thanks to his broken rib. He looked around trying to pinpoint their location. They were on an empty construction site. It looked abandoned. From the position of the moon Jay suspected that it was the middle of the night. There was no one around.

"Start walking on that direction". Matei pointed to a pile of big concrete pipes on the other side of the lot. The man holding Erin immediately started walking in that direction, his firm grip on her arm keeping her from running or falling down.

Jay walked behind them, thinking about his options. He needed to act soon or it would be too late. Maybe if he jumped Matei Erin could get rid of the other man.

Matei`s phone suddenly ringed interrupting Jay`s escape plans. Matei checked the caller Id and frowned. "Stop Andrei. I need to get this. Keep an eye on them".

"Yes". He answered the phone. "Oh… Umm, ok. Text me the coordinates and I`ll do it… 40 minutes tops… What do you want me to write?". His eyes darted to the detectives. "Yeah, sure boss… Bye".

Jay and Erin exchanged a furtive look.

Matei waited a few seconds and a message popped up on his screen. He looked at it and smiled suddenly turning his attention to Jay. "Looks like it`s your lucky day, detective".

"Why?". Jay asked confused.

"Oh, you will see in a few minutes". Was his cryptically response.

Jay fixed his eyes on Erin. She looked confused too. _What the hell was happening? _

They were pushed back inside the van. The man spoke again in another language and they drove for another fifteen, maybe twenty minutes before the vehicle completely stopped. Matei took a piece of paper from his pocked and started to write something on it with a small pen. After he finished he folded the paper into a square and put it on Jay`s pants pocket.

Jay stared at him confused. "What…".

Without answering Matei got up and brusquely opened the back door of the van. Jay`s eyes desperately darted around the surroundings trying to identify where they were. They were on a street close to the precinct.

Matei grabbed Jay by the hem of his shirt and made him stand up. He ordered something to the driver and the man heavily accelerated the van. Matei waited for it to catch some speed and smiled at Jay.

"It was nice knowing you".

Without any warning he pushed Jay out of the moving van. Erin yelled and tried to get up but Matei was already by her side keeping her in place. "Not you princess".

She watched helplessly as Jay`s body fell from the van and impacted with the asphalt. The horrible imaged frozen forever in her mind. He immediately rolled, his soft skin scrapping against the rough surface and his head hitting the floor heavily. The last thing she saw before Matei closed the doors was Jay`s blood.

"Why THE HELL did you do that!?". She asked him, her voice filled with desperation, anger and concern.

"To send a message".

"Why? To whom?".

Matei stared hard at her for a few seconds. He seemed to be debating something inside his head. Finally he sighted and started talking. "All I can tell you is that there is someone who is very eager to meet you. Once the boss told his associate about you two, he recognized your name".

"What are you talking about? Who is he?".

"Oh. I don`t know his real name. We call him The Reaper". Matei suddenly got very close to her face. She could feel his mint breath as he spoke the words that send a chill down her spine: "Bur I bet that his last name is Lindsay since he is your biologic father".

Before she could react she felt a noddle push inside her arm and she passed out.

* * *

**Sorry for another cliffhanger. I`m addicted!**

**I always wondered about Erin`s real father. They never talk about him on the show so I`m making up a story about him.**

**Sorry for any grammar mistakes. I just wrote this and had no time to proofread it.**

**I hope you liked it! If you did, please leave a review. They make my day.**

**A special thanks to: CaseyJr, Ginger404, FraanGoran, AmyEden, sxcthing123, IllyriatheSmurf7, SoFeelingTheLove, bfiesty, lanteaddicted, ronniefranco8, country-chick-20, Kim, Layna Remi, Luana24, ako94, andrejkau, jaelyn2001, Famous4it, KjWolfsound, andy and every guest that reviewed. Your support keep me motivated to write more!**

**And to the guest that kindly told me about the lack of descriptive language. That`s the toughest part of writing in English for me. That and grammar. It takes me 15 minutes to write a chapter like this on my native language and to write it in English it takes a few hours. It`s crazy. I don`t have the same vocabulary as those who were alphabetized in English. I try my best to work on it. Maybe practicing more will help me on the future!**

**See you all next Friday!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hello! It`s finally friday and here is the new chapter of Weakness. I hope you enjoy it!**

* * *

Rachel Green used her hand to wipe the sweat out of her forehead. She had been running top speed for almost fifteen minutes now. She felt the chilly air enter and exit her tired lungs as she controlled her breaths. This was her favorite part of the day. Her boyfriend thought that she was crazy to run in the middle of the night but she absolutely loved it. There was something amazingly comforting about having only the stars and moon as company to her thoughts.

Following her usual path she turned left on the 29th street. Three more blocks and she would slow down to walk the rest of the way. When she approached the 21st District Police Station she immediately noticed that something wasn`t right. She slowed down just in time to watch a black van come out of nowhere. The vehicle accelerated and without warning something was thrown out of its back. The object rolled for a few seconds until it stopped completely.

Rachel looked astonished at the retreating van. "What the…". She didn`t get to finish that sentence as her eyes finally identified the object that had been thrown out of the vehicle: a body. A chill ran down her spine and her mouth fell open.

She was frozen for a few seconds at the sidewalk eyeing the body from a safe distance. Finally she came back to reality and approached it with caution. It was a man. And a very handsome one, she couldn`t help noticing. He had bleeding scrapes on his pale skin from the contact with the asphalt. Taking a few steps closer she could see that he also had a bruise on his chin and a split lip. His eyes were shut. _Is he dead? What should I do?_

Every inch of indecision disappeared from her mind as she watched him suddenly take a deep breath. He opened his eyes wide and tried to move around. She instantly ran to him and kneeled right beside his body.

"Don`t move, you`re injured".

He looked around frantically and found her eyes. He seemed desperate. His mouth opened one time and closed. He opened it again and tried to speak but nothing came out.

"Take it easy. I`ll get help". She started to get up but his blooded hand suddenly grabbed her left arm making her jump.

"V-voight". His hoarse voice made it difficult to understand what he was trying to tell her.

"What?".

"Call… Voight". He finally managed to say before letting go of her arm and passing out.

"Oh my God".

She got up and looked around. Her eyes found the precinct door. Without wasting any more time she ran into the building. Her body collapsed with another one as she was opening the door.

"Hey! Watch where you are going!". A blond man told her. He looked exhausted. He didn`t look like a cop and wasn't wearing a uniform but her eyes found the distinctive on his belt. _A detective!_

"I need help!". She blurted out, her voice pitchy. His eyes seemed confused. "A man. They threw him out of a van. He is hurt".

He changed his expression into a serious one, his officer-face. "Where?".

She pointed at the street and together they approached the body slowly. She noticed the detective`s gun on his hand. When they got close enough the detective`s jaw fell open.

"Jay!". He yelled and immediately dropped to the floor beside the unconscious man. He got his phone out of his pocket and pressed a button. "Officer down! Requesting an ambulance at 300 East 29th St. Hurry up!". His fingers felt for a pulse and he turned his attention to her. "Was he conscious?".

"Yes. He told me to call someone. Varth? Vorth?".

He frowned. "Voight".

"Yes! That`s it".

The detective cursed under his breath. Another officers ran out of the Police Station on their direction. A black haired man crouched right next to the blond detective.

"What happened?".

"It`s Halstead! His pulse is strong but he isn`t waking up. He was thrown out of a van". The blonde man pointed to her. "She saw it happening".

"Ma`am. What kind of van? What color? Did you see the license plate? In what direction it went?".

"Black. I don`t know the kind… It looked normal. I don`t know".

"And the license?".

She closed her eyes and tried to remember it. _Think, think, think_. "Out of State… Massachusetts… 316ES9". She heard sirens approaching.

"Are you sure?".

"Yes. Yes, I am".

* * *

Jay came back to consciousness with a bang. He jumped on the soft bed and started frantically moving around, his eyes wide open and wild. _What happened? Where was he?_ He felt strong hands holding him to the bed. His eyes focused on Antonio`s face.

"Hey, Halstead. You`re in the hospital. Take it easy".

Jay abruptly stopped moving. _Hospital. Hospital. Hospital_. The memories from the van flooded his mind. He tried to speak but nothing came out. His throat was too dry.

Antonio wordlessly let go of his arms and handed him a glass of water. Jay gulped all of it in two long gulps. The cool liquid immediately soothed his aching vocal chords.

"Erin?". He hoarsely managed to say.

Antonio shook his head. "We don`t know where she is. She was not with you".

Jay panicked and tried to get up from the bed. He needed to find Erin. He needed to help her. Antonio`s hands once again prevented him to move.

"You need to rest, man. This is not going to help her. Lay dawn!".

Voight heard the commotion and entered the hospital room.

"Halstead!". He half growled, half yelled. The detective instantly stopped moving and focused his eyes on the Sargent. He felt the weight of Antonio`s grip and for the first time noticed the pain. It was like seeing Voight dumped a bucket of reality over his head. Everything hurt. Jay eyed the white bandages over his scraped arms and felt the ones tightly holding his ribs. He felt tired, worn out.

He sighted and calmed down a little. "Wha-What happened?".

"You got thrown out of a van in front of the precinct". Voight provided while taking a seat on a chair close to Antonio.

"I remember… most of it at least".

Voight focused his eyes on him. There were a lot of feelings on the older man expression. "Do you know where they have taken Erin?".

Jay expression turned blank. He sheepishly shook his head averting Voight`s eyes.

"What do you remember?". Antonio kindly asked.

Jay closed his eyes and sighted out loud. He needed to get his thoughts in order. This was important. "We got jumped at the warehouse. Three man, all foreigners. Caucasian, blue eyes, blond hair. They all looked professional and spoke perfect English, no accent. They took our guns, badges and phones. I- I should have called for back up before entering. Erin wanted to but I told her that we should wait… I-"

"It`s not your fault, Jay". Antonio read his thoughts and handed him some more water. Voight remained silent, his lips pressed against each other.

"They took us to their boss. He wanted to know how we got the address of the warehouse. Erin told him that we knew nothing about his operation, that it was just a CI`s tip but he didn`t believe her". Jay took a slow sip of the water. "There was a really huge guy. He punched me on the ribs… I think he broke some".

All three man focused their eyes on the thin white sheet covering Jay`s bandaged torso.

"Yeah, you have three broken ribs". Antonio told him.

"They didn`t believe us. The huge guy, they called him Yoel… he punched Erin, almost knocked her out of it". Jay`s eyes found Voight`s. The man looked furious and Jay couldn`t help to look away ashamed. He was her partner, he should have protected her.

"Go on". Antonio encouraged.

"They knocked us out. We woke up on a different room, both tied up. I think we were on an abandoned factory or something… I`m not sure. The boss was there and wanted to know how we got the address again. We insisted that it was a CI`s tip. He sent the big guy to interrogate us but I killed him. Opened his throat with a knife".

Voight growled a little with happiness. At least one of them was dead.

"They got to us again and put us in a van. They were taking us to an abandoned lot to kill us but something changed. The man that was taking us… Matei… he got a call. They put us on the van again and the last thing I remember was being thrown out of it".

Antonio nodded at him. "That was five hours ago, Jay. We found you and brought you to the hospital".

Jay suddenly remembered something important. "He put something on my pocket, a note. Where are my clothes?". He looked around the hospital room but couldn`t find his pants anywhere.

"Antonio, can you give us a minute?". Voight asked.

"Yeah. I`ll go get the sketch artist. I`ll be back in a bit".

Voight waited the detective close the door and proceeded.

"I found the paper, Halstead. It was a phone number. I immediately called it. A man answered. He told me I needed to stop investigating or…". He took in a large breath. He looked upset. "Or the next thing I would get on the mail was Erin`s finger". His eyes were fixed on his lap. "Burner phone, couldn't be traced".

Jay took a few minutes to digest the information. He couldn`t help to morbidly picture Erin`s delicate finger being cut off with a knife. Blood, so much blood. He gulped and closed his eyes. "What are you going to do?"

"Officially I`m closing the investigation. Commander Perry already signed the papers. We are keeping it away from the press too". Voight clenched his fists on his lap and frowned. "Unofficially I`m going to find that son of a bitch and make him regret to have ever stepped a foot on this Earth".

Jay remained silent, his mind racing with so many somber thoughts.

"How was she?". Voight asked him, his voice surprisingly soft. His hands were nervously playing with the zipper of his leather coat. Jay had never seen him so vulnerable.

He felt a need to be honest. "Not good. She… She was beat up. She had a concussion from the blow to the head and I think that she hurt her wrist while fighting with the big guy".

Voight was silent for a few seconds, his eyes on the floor. Jay could see his hands trembling a little. "We`re going to make them pay".

"Yeah". Jay timidly offered. He was terrified. _How would they find Erin? Why did they let him go and not her? Was she all right? Was she even alive?_ He remembered their talk inside the van. _I love you too_ – she had said. _She loved him. She loved him. She loved him_ and she was hurting and alone. And, on top of all, he had no clue of how he was going to get to her. "I need to help, get me out of here".

Voight shook his head. "No, you need to rest. You have three broken ribs, a light concussion, a—".

"Voight... It`s Erin". Jay pleaded. He put so much emphasis and emotion on her name, so much love, so much tenderness, hoping that his boss would understand.

Voight sighted. Yes, he did understand. They both cared deeply for Erin. Even if Hank didn`t want Jay and Erin together he knew: Jay loved her. "I`ll see what I can do, kid".

* * *

The Reaper eyed the woman coldly. His eyes roamed over her body, noticing the bruises and the dried blood. She was lying knocked out on a dirty sofa inside their current hideout.

The boss watched him with curiosity. _Does the ruthless man really have a soft side?_ He decided to test the waters in order to find out. "She`s just little roughed up. She was acting up so Yoel put her in her place, but nothing permanent. She is going to be fine".

The Reaper didn`t respond or react, his eyes still fixed on the woman and his expression blank, unreadable.

"Never would have guessed you had a daughter". The boss insisted.

"You don`t know anything about me, Erik".

"Yeah, I know. But we`ve worked together for a long time now. I never pegged you as a fatherly type".

The Reaper sighted and considered his answer. "It was no something I had a choice upon. It just happened".

"You got a bitch pregnant and she didn`t want to end the pregnancy?". Erik smiled like he knew what he was talking about.

"Something like that".

"And now you have a 29 year old daughter… who is a cop. A cop that is investigating us". Erik laughed. "Funny how life works".

The Reaper did not laugh, not finding the situation remotely funny. But Erik was not offended, he was used to the other man seriousness.

"I`m taking a not so wild guess here and imagining that you two are not close. How long since you had last laid your eyes on her?". He didn`t get an answer. "Fine. I`ll shut up for now. Just tell me what are the rules here. What should we do with her?".

"Just keep her here until our next load arrives. Make sure she gets food and medical attention if needed. And make sure your boys don`t get any funny ideas".

Erik nodded. "And after that?"

"I have not decided yet".

"Alright. Just understand that I`m doing this as a professional courtesy. If she starts being more trouble than she`s worth or if she put our operation in danger I`ll kill her myself".

The Reaper narrowed his eyes but eventually conceded. "She`ll not give you trouble. I`ll make sure of that".

"Are you sure you can handle her? That one is feisty".

"Yes, I am sure".

* * *

**I wrote chapter 5 yesterday and there is an awesome part with Erin and her father. I can`t wait for you to read it!**

**Just a QUESTION: did you get the Dexter reference on chapter 2? Did you get the Friends reference in this one? :) **

**Thank you so much for the support! Special thanks to** **FraanGoran, Dany, Thay, jordan, ako94, AmyEden, Zachiliam, Smileyface2508, SoFeelingTheLove, Ghostwriter, lanteaddicted, live in love 1, linsteadlove and the guests for reviewing. You guys made my day! I love to read your opinion, makes me want to write more and more!**

**Oh. And for those who asked, I live in Brazil; so my first language is Portuguese. **

**Maybe I`ll go drink a caipirinha now and write some more! See you next friday!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Sorry for not posting this sooner. I'm a lawyer so I work crazy hours and sometimes I don`t have time to write. To make it up to you this chapter is longer, almost 3800 words! I hope you like it! **

* * *

After spending almost seven hours in the hospital, Jay Halstead was released to go home. Voight had to almost threaten the doctor with his gun to get the release order.

Jay was under orders to not lift any weight, drive or perform any aerobic activities because of his broken ribs. The doctor also suggested that he should stay with a friend in order to wake him up every 3 hours to evaluate changes in symptoms because of the light concussion. Any intense level of pain or loss of consciousness and Jay was supposed to go back immediately.

As the hospital automatic doors closed behind his wheel chair Jay relaxed. _Finally free_. He hated hospitals and hated even more to be sidelined.

"Thank you, Voight". He uttered.

The Sargent nodded his head in response while pushing Jay`s wheelchair in the direction of the parking lot. He parked the chair beside the passenger`s door of his Cadillac Escalade and Jay slowly made his way to the leather seat.

The strong painkillers were doing a fine job so Jay felt a minimum amount of pain. He relaxed against the cold black leather and rested his head against the glass.

Voight quickly returned the wheelchair to the hospital and walked back to the vehicle. The two men sat inside the car for a few minutes without speaking. Jay was on the verge of saying something; anything to break the awkward silence but Voight surprisingly beat him to it.

"You`re staying with me, Halstead".

Jay`s mouth almost fell to the floor. No, that was not possible. He must be high on the pain medicine or something like that.

"No". Jay blurted without thinking about it. Voight was a little taken back at his shortness. "I mean… I don`t want to impose. I bet Antonio wouldn`t mind the company. You can leave me at his house if you don`t mind".

"Nonsense. Antonio needs to focus on the case instead of playing nurse with you. He is at the station with Al, Ruzek and Atwater trying to find any leads right now". Voight paused. "Justin`s old room is empty at my house, you can sleep there and tomorrow we will go first thing in the morning to the station".

"I don`t have any clothes here".

"Sure you do. Ruzek swinged by your place earlier and got a few change of clothes for you. Your landlord let him in. The bag is on the back seat"

Without wasting any more time discussing it Voight turned the car on and drove to his house in the cold Chicago night.

Jay kept quiet, not really having a valid counterargument. What could he say to him in order to change his mind? Voight had gotten him out of the hospital and he was really grateful for it. And if Antonio and the guys were working the case, where else would he stay? He had no family in Chicago.

Without any other option, Jay decided to let this go and appreciate the Sargent's offer. He needed to focus his attention on more important things like finding Erin.

As he watched the lights passing by his window Jay`s mind was immediately invaded by a thousand thoughts. _Where was she? Was she all right? What had those men done to her?_

Was he crazy to desire to be with her right now even if it resulted in being held hostage by some crazy European men? No, that was totally acceptable his brain decided. Not knowing was the worst part. When he was with her at least he knew that she was alive. Right now he only had hope. _Of course she is alive, Erin is the strongest person I know. _

Jay pushed these thoughts to the back of his mind. If he continued on this line of thinking he would go mad. So he did what he had learned on the army: he closed himself from his feelings and focused on the mission. Right now he needed to be strong and focused on finding her.

They arrived at Voight`s home after more five minutes. The Sargent exited the car first and made his way to the passenger side. Without uttering a single word he helped Jay to get out of the vehicle, his hand supporting the detective`s arm. On Voight`s other hand he carried the bag with Jay`s clothes.

Together they climbed the stairs to the house and Voight opened the door. As Jay entered the house he got a flashback of the last and only time he was here. He had come with Erin to check on Voight when he was robbed. Jay remembered joking about Erin having her own key to the house. '_Because I`m special, that`s why'_, she had said with a teasing smile on her lips. Jay closed his eyes feeling incredibly sad.

_Stop it, focus_. His brain ordered.

Voight closed the door and helped Jay to climb the wooden stairs slowly. That was a hard task since the painkillers seemed to be wearing off and Jay could feel a twinge on his torso every step he ascended. As they arrived at the first floor Voight pointed to the second door on the left.

"That`s Justin`s old room".

In silence they made their way together to the bedroom. Voight opened the door and turned the lights on. The walls were painted dark gray and the one in the back of the room was covered in a few posters: AC/DC, Guns, Black Sabbath, old school Pamela Anderson in a red bikini, The Clash.

"Cool room". Jay noted with a little of sarcasm.

"Justin moved out when he was eighteen". Voight explained while looking at the room decoration. "Sit there and I`ll get you clean sheets".

Jay slowly walked to the bed and carefully sat on it. The mattress was soft, too soft. After his time in the army Jay had a hard time sleeping on a soft bed. But right now he couldn`t complain.

Voight returned with a clean set of dark sheets and motioned for Jay to get up.

"Do you want something to eat?". He asked while making the bed.

"No, I`m fine. I ate the hospital food".

"Ok". Voight finished with the sheets and turned to eye Jay. "If you need anything I`m two doors down, right after Erin`s old bedroom. The bathroom is the one close to the stairs; there are clean towels inside the cabinet. I`ll come back to wake you three hours from now".

Voight awkwardly closed the door after de left, leaving Jay alone. He took his shoes off and opened the black duffle bag with his clothes. For his surprise Ruzek had picked some good pieces of clothes: some basic t-shirts, a navy blue hoodie, jeans, some socks and some boxer shorts. Jay grimaced at the thought of Ruzek going through his underwear. He also found his toothbrush and deodorant inside the bag.

Sighting he got up with some difficulty and headed to the bathroom, he needed a shower.

After twenty minutes he walked out of the bathroom fresh from the shower and with his teeth brushed. He felt like a new man. In order to take the shower he had to remove the bandages from his arms and torso so after drying himself he made new bandages with the gauze he found inside the cabinet.

As he walked back to Justin`s room with his dirty clothes on his hands he remembered that Voight had mentioned that Erin`s old bedroom was beside Jason`s. Jay felt his eyes wonder to her door. What would her bedroom look like?

His curiosity got the best of him and he walked slowly to her bedroom trying to make the least noise as possible in order to not get Voight`s attention. The sergeant would not be happy with him snooping around.

He pushed the door to her old room open and the first thing he noticed was the smell. The smell of her perfume was everywhere in the room, still impregnated after all of those years. Jay found it kind of cute that she hadn`t changed the perfume. It was such a Lindsay thing to do; if she liked something she insisted on it.

With his left hand he turned the lights on and was greeted by an average sized bedroom. After seeing the posters on Jason`s room he kind of expected her room to look the same, only a girl version of that. Maybe a Justin Timberlake poster or something like that.

He was wrong. Her room was actually pretty simple. It actually remembered him a lot of her current apartment, only with lighter colors. There was a full size bed in the middle of the bedroom, covered with a light purple duvet and a mountain of different pillows. The walls were painted white, no music posters in sight. On the right side of the room she had created a gallery wall full of black and white photos on black frames. It looked very nice actually. To the left size of the room there was an empty desk and a large wooden wardrobe. She must have taken her belongings when she moved out, Jay concluded.

Jay approached the photos hanging on the wall and took his time looking at each one. There were pictures of the Voight family together with Erin and pictures of a young Erin at school. No pictures of her somber past were visible, not even one of Teddy.

She looked so young and so happy on some of the pictures that the sight made his heart ache. He put his dirty clothes on the floor and grabbed a photo of her smiling to the camera and examined it closer. Her hair was a little darker and longer. She looked eighteen, maybe nineteen, Jay couldn`t be sure. She was so beautiful, so full of life that no one could possibly imagine the horrible things she had to go thought when she was a little kid. Jay caressed the image with his index finger, wishing to be touching her warm skin instead of the dusty glass.

"She moved out at 21, when she applied to the academy". A voice behind him made him jump out of surprise and almost drop the frame as his ribs screamed in protest of the sudden movement.

Voight was standing on the doorframe, looking straight at the picture on Jay`s hand, a somber look on his face.

"I kept it just the way she left it".

Jay slowly put the frame to its place on the wall and tucked his hands inside the front pockets of his hoodie. He felt like a kid caught doing something wrong.

Voight looked him straight on the eyes. "Go to sleep Halstead. If you want to help me find her and bring her home you need to rest and regain your energy".

Jay nodded, grabbed his clothes from the floor and walked out of Erin`s bedroom in silence.

* * *

Erin woke up slowly. She took a long deep breath and opened her eyes. Her eyelids were heavy and her head tingled a little so it took a few seconds for her vision to focus. She felt like she was waking up from a very, very long sleep.

This time her memory had not faulted her; she knew exactly what was going on. She looked around noticing that she in a different room from the first time with Jay. This one was much smaller than the first. She was lying uncomfortably on a large and old beige sofa. There was a wooden table to her right with a water bottle and a fresh apple on top of it. There were no chairs and no other furniture around. On the other side of the room there was a window on the wall but it had been barricaded with wooden boards. She could see from the small openings between the boards that it was dark outside.

Metal cuffs tied her wrists to each other in front of her body but her feet were free. She sat up slowly and immediately felt a sharp pain on her head. _Great, the concussion was still there_. Thank God the pain had diminished considerably and the nausea was completely gone. She stretched out her legs feeling that every muscle was sore.

Her eyes traveled thought her body accessing the injuries. There were some nasty bruises from fighting Yoel but the most concerning injury was her wrist. It had swelled up and the skin around it was purple. Erin tried to move it a little but the pain was too strong. It was definitely broken. She sighted in frustration.

She also noticed that she felt weak, lightheaded, probably for not eating or drinking anything in a long time. As if reading her thoughts her stomach growled and her eyes fell on the water bottle and apple on the table close to the sofa.

Acting on her survival instincts she got up slowly and walked to the table. She grabbed the water bottle first with her good arm and opened it. She smelled the liquid trying to decide if it had been tempered or not. After finding no detectable smell she drank the whole bottle in long gulps. She put the empty bottle back to the table and eyed the apple. She desperately needed her strength back so she would take the risk of it being drugged.

She grabbed the fruit and sat back at the sofa. As she ate her mind roamed back to her last conscious memory from the van: Jay`s body contacting with the hard asphalt. _Was he ok? Did someone find him?_ Jay was a tough man and would recover from his injuries sooner or later... _Right?_ For her sake she decided that he was ok, that he was at the hospital being taken care of. Yes, that`s right, he was safe and that was all that mattered.

An image of his smile crossed her mind. He had such a sweet smile for a grown up man. Her heart ached as she remembered their last moments together. _I love you_ – he had confessed. All she could think now was that she was the one that insisted about keeping things professional. She was the one guilty about denying them a little happiness. Now she could die at any minute and would never taste happiness with him.

Suddenly another thought invaded her mind. Matei had said that her biologic father wanted to see her and he had called him "The Reaper". She closed her eyes and remembered the last time she had seen her father. He had came by Bunny`s house on her fourth birthday to wish her happy birthday. She remembered that he smelled like mint cigars and that she was really happy to see him.

He had always been absent and her four-year-old mind did not understand why. There was no place to blame or anger, she just wanted her dad around and was happy when he visited. As she got older she started to realize that her father was a horrible father and a horrible man. He was a criminal, a murderer. He had been arrested and she decided to get her own back on him and be an absent daughter. She never visited him on prison, not even a single time, not even for his birthday.

So it was impossible that the man Matei was talking about was her father since her biological father was locked up in prison. Maybe they were messing with her or something like that. _Yes, that must be it_.

Her thoughts were interrupted by some noise on the other side of the door. Someone was coming.

She sat upright on the sofa and waited as the door was opened from outside. A single man came in and the door was immediately closed behind his back.

Erin watched her biological father focus his eyes on her. _Oh… my… God_. There he was, her biological father, standing in the same room as her. What the hell was he doing out of prison?

Suddenly, as her mind wrapped up the fact that it was really her father, all the anger and the hurt that she had kept for so many years locked up inside a tiny part of her heart exploded thought her body.

"Do you know who I am?". He cautiously asked her. He was approaching her like she was a cornered wild animal.

She narrowed her eyes and contemplated not answering but that would take her nowhere. This was hard for her. _So, so hard_. Normally if anyone ever questioned about her dad she would just put all of her walls up and ignore the question, act tough like she usually did.

But as she faced him now, her walls had mystically disappeared, her hart got tighter and tighter and tighter inside her chest. She felt like the strong-minded Detective Erin Lindsay was far, far away. All that was left was a little girl that was really intimidated by the presence of her absent father. Her absent, criminal, lowlife, disreputable, scum of a father. She had no walls, no defense, no armor and no bulletproof vest protecting her. She was exposed, figuratively naked, nothing to surround her. Unprotected, alone. And it hurt. I hurt a lot. "Yes".

He nodded and stopped walking, his eyes still watching her. He looked nothing like the lowlife criminal that was her father 25 years ago. She noticed that his posture was impeccable and he was dressed with expensive clothes. His accent was polished. He looked younger than his age but not as young as the last time she had seen him.

"You`ve grown up. The last time I saw you, you were four years old. It was your birthday. I passed by your mom`s house and gave you a present". His voice was so neutral that it seemed that he was reading a shopping list. His face was also unreadable, not giving any indication of weakness or love.

"I remember. It was a doll". She grimaced and her voice got soft. "I hated dolls".

He didn`t look taken back. "I didn`t know".

She gulped and fixed her eyes on the floor. _How could you know if you were never around? You left my mom and me. You abandoned us._ This was what she wanted to say but she swelled the words. "Two days later you were arrested. I saw it on the TV. First degree murder, you got 30 years".

"Yes, that is correct. I got out earlier on good behavior".

She silently scoffed. _Good behavior. What a joke. _And how could no one inform her about his early release?

He narrowed his cold eyes at her, still not showing emotion. A few tense seconds passed, neither made a sound.

This was getting harder and harder by the second. Erin could feel the anger exploding inside of her. She suddenly felt the need to say the words she always wanted to say to him. "I- I`m not your daughter. I never was and I`ll never be". She blurted, her traitor eyes tearing up.

He stared at her for a few seconds. She made the tears retreat and got a little of her composure back.

"So what are you? Voight`s daughter?". He said. A little of accusation on his voice tone.

She made a mental note of that. He was cold, but he was not entirely made of ice. He felt jealously at least - jealous of Hank Voight stepping in and taking his rightful place. And how had he known of Voight? He was locked up for 25 years and she had never visited.

Pushing that question away she decided to take the opportunity to hurt him a little bit. If she died today at least she would have that little satisfaction. "He was a better parent to me than you and Bunny ever were".

He just stared at her but she knew that she had struck a nerve. "I don`t know what to do with you".

"Kill me". Her eyes defied him; she suddenly was feeling a little more like Erin Lindsay-the detective and a little less like Erin Lindsay-the little girl. "Kill me now and get this over with".

"Maybe I will". His eyes sparkled at the thought and she couldn`t stop the shiver that went down her spine and made the hair on her arms stand up. His voice was so somber, so mean. Maybe he really could murder his own daughter.

"They call you Reaper, don`t they? Why is that?".

He remained silent, clearly not confortable to share the information.

"I asked you a question".

He sighted. "You`re too stubborn for your own good. Trust me when I say that it will get you killed". With those last words he quickly exited the room, leaving her alone with her corrupted thoughts and broken heart.

After he was gone it took her exactly one minute to break. She hugged her legs as the tears fell from her eyes. She sobbed like she hadn`t done in years. Erin Lindsay-the detective never cried. Never. If they had tortured her, hurt her, made her bleed she would not have broken. But this, this was worst than torture. Jay was gone, possibly very hurt. She was alone, being held against her will by her own father. This was her worst nightmare. Her biological father was her deepest weakness. He always was and always would be.

* * *

**This was hard to write, a lot of emotions going on. I`m not sure I like it. What do you think? **

**Thank you for the reviews on the last chapter! They keep me motivated to write more.**

**Next chapter: the Intelligence Unit gets an important lead and comes face to face with one of the bad guys.**

**Um oi especial para os brasileiros e portugueses (eu fiz intercâmbio em Porto por 6 meses, amo Portugal)! Se eu tiver mais tempo eu traduzo essa história para português e posto aqui também. **

**See you all next friday!**


	6. Chapter 6

It took Erin almost ten minutes to calm herself down. She breathed in, breathed out and tried every technic she knew to stop crying: blink like a crazy person, pinch your nose, count to ten. She couldn`t show weakness. Not now. She needed to focus all her strength on getting out of there alive.

As the time passed she finally subdued the tears. In ten minutes she had cried more than she did on the last few years of her life. Her face must be horribly red and puffy.

She tried to think straight but her mind kept going back to her father. What the hell was he doing with these men? What were they going to do with her? Was Jay really ok? How long would they keep her alive?

A loud noise just outside the door to the room that she was being kept made her jump out of her thoughts. She looked up as the door opened again. This time a younger man entered the room. He seemed to be in the middle of his twenties and looked kind of boyish. He carried a plastic bag on his hands full of unknown items.

She breathed out and instantly thanked the Universe that it was not her father again. She was not ready for another confrontation with him yet.

The young man stepped inside the room and closed the door behind him. Erin watched as his blue eyes roamed over her body taking in her roughed appearance. As they made direct contact with hers she could only read one emotion: empathy. He opened a small sad smile to her and approached the table. She tensed at his proximity waiting for his next move and he seemed to notice that because he stopped walking.

"You are not what I was expecting". He spoke to her for the first time. That was the last thing she thought would come out of his mouth. "You look nothing like your father". He complemented probably sensing her confusion.

"Sorry to disappoint". She muttered back at him.

"Oh, and you have a sense of humor too". He smiled again at her. It was a kind smile this time, like he was trying to befriend her. "Nothing like your father at all".

She found his humor a little unsettling. _What is his play? _

"They told me to bring you a clean shirt". He roamed inside the plastic bag taking the items that were inside and putting them on the table: a shirt, a first aid kid, a bottle of water and three protein bars. "Sorry". He motioned to the shirt. "Nothing fancy and definitely not your size but I bet you are going to feel a lot better after taking that bloodied shirt off". He eyed her t-shirt and looked a little nauseated.

If she was not a trained cop she might be more influenced at falling for his warm approach. But being who she was, she decided that they were playing the famous good cop-bad cop angle on her. That was the only explanation. So, if this guy was good-cop, where was bad-cop?

His eyes traveled from her shirt to her damaged wrist and to the dried blood on her face.

"I`ll need to take the cuffs off your wrist so you can change the shirt. After that I can help you to clean and disinfect those wounds. Do you promise to not attack me?".

Erin chose to remain silent. Was he really asking that? And he had no gun to protect himself from her. _Is this guy for real? _

"There is a armed man outside and he looks very angry. If you do anything I`ll yell and he`ll come inside. We don't want that, right?".

She just stared at him, blank expression on her face. After a long stare contest she nodded her head, letting him know that she would not do anything foolish.

He seemed satisfied with her quiet response and proceeded to take a silver key out of his back pocket. He sad beside her on the couch and with a tender touch released the cuffs from her wrists.

"Ughh…". He motioned for her to take off the dirty shirt off. As to encourage her he glued his eyes to the floor, a silent compromise to not look.

Erin narrowed her eyes at him and pushing modesty aside took the t-shirt off with some difficulty. She handed it to him noticing that his face reddened as she stood in front of him wearing only her black bra. Or this guy was the most polite criminal she encountered or he was a really good actor.

She quickly put on the shirt he had brought and immediately felt a little better. It was a dark grey man`s basic t-shirt that was a little too big for her.

Keeping truthful to his promise he opened the first aid kit on the table and took out some gauze and antibiotic liquid. He put the liquid on the gauze and looked directly to her eyes.

His hand slowly approached her face and he started to clean the cut on her eyebrow. "It`s deep and probably need stitches if you don`t want it to leave a scar. I don`t know how to do stitches so I`ll do my best to keep it covered for now".

After applying antiseptic he protected the cut with a made up bandage. His next move was to treat her injured left wrist. "I think it`s broken". His eyes found hers. "Nothing I can do with a first aid kit. The best I can do for you is to send someone to get a stronger painkiller at the pharmacy".

Her eyes lit up a little, a strong painkiller sounded like heaven right now. "That would help, thank you".

He bandaged the wrist the best he could and put the cuffs back, not making them too tight on the injured one.

He croaked his face to the side focusing his eyes on her face again. He seemed to be looking for something.

"What`s your name?"

"Lindsay. Erin Lindsay. Why?".

As she said her name his eyes instantly flashed with recognition. He tried his best to cover it up. "Um. Nothing"

She fixed a hard stare on him as to not let him think that she believed him for a second.

"Uhh… I`ll send someone to get those painkillers. You can eat the protein bars I left on the table, you`ll feel better". He got up from the couch and left the room in a second leaving a very curious and confused Erin behind.

As the door closed behind him Mouse let out a deep breath. He started walking away before the man guarding her door suspected anything.

Erin Lindsay. What a fucking small world. Jay had told him about her, she was his partner. His fucking PARTNER! Of course it was her, those dimples were unmistakable. Jay had showed him a picture of the two of them together but he didn`t pay much attention to it back then. He just noticed that she was hot and had cute dimples.

Oh God. Suddenly something on his head just clicked. The other detective the other guys were talking about earlier must be Jay. They had thrown him out of a moving van. Oh God, oh God!

Oh, Jay was going to kill him… If he was still alive. No, no, he must be alive. Oh God. He messed up big this time. What was going through his head as he accepted that job? Right. That was the problem; he wasn`t thinking. They money had convinced him to accept it but he never knew that they were going to hurt anyone. Let alone hurt a friend of his.

Mouse ran his hand through his face. What should he do now?

* * *

Jay stared at the wall on Voight`s office. They had been waiting for a lead since early in the morning but nothing had happened. He was starting to feel that the effect of painkillers was ending, as his ribs started hurting.

He was contemplating taking another painkiller when Ruzek stormed in Voight`s office like a man with a mission. He was breathless from running. Jay noticed that he also looked exhausted, probably from not sleeping since he and Erin were taken.

"Boss! We just got a hit on the license plate. It ran a red light on Lincoln Park five minutes ago. A patrol car confirmed the plate and is following the van from afar".

Voight and Jay immediately got up from their respective chairs and entered the bull pen. Antonio and Atwater were already on their feet ready for action.

"We got a lead! Everyone grab your gear quickly!". Voight turned to Ruzek while the others ran to the locker room to put on their vests. "Tell Platt to warn the patrol car to not engage. I want to see where that van goes. Oh, and tell her I want Burgess and Roman on this too and to keep this internal for now".

Ruzed nodded and ran downstairs.

Jay started to make his way to the locker room but Voight stopped him. "Are you sure you are up to this, Halstead?".

Jay nodded. "More sure than ever".

Of course he was up for it. It was Erin! The only way they would make him stay back was by locking him up.

Voight seemed to think about it for a second. "All right. Gear up".

The Intelligence Unit made their way to Lincoln Park running every red light until arriving at their destination. Voight already drives like a maniac on a normal day but he was absolutely crazy-driving to get there as soon as possible.

He parked his car and without turning it off he jumped out and approached the uniforms that had seen the van. They were a man and a woman, both young and nervous. The rest of the unit followed him.

"Officers McNally and Diaz, 17th District". The young officer offered.

"Where is the van?". Voight growled at them not wasting time with introductions.

"It is parked over there". He pointed to a few stores at the next block down the road. "The driver went inside the pharmacy five minutes ago. He is wearing a black hoodie and jeans. Long blond hair. We were told to not engage so we waited here for you guys to arrive".

Voight nodded and without another word walked away from the group in the direction of the pharmacy.

Al sighted and smiled at the young officers. "Don`t mind him. This case is just very personal to him. You guys did a great job, thank you".

"You`re welcome". Diaz smiled at him, obviously grateful for the recognition.

"Is this about that missing detective from your district?". McNally asked, a frown forming on her forehead.

Ruzek smiled charmingly at her. "No. We closed that case".

Diaz and McNally exchanged a quick glance. They knew that was a lie. After a few tense seconds they both relaxed and let it go. Whatever was going on was not their business. "Do you need anything else detectives?".

Al smiled again. "No, thank you".

The two officers nodded and headed to their patrol car that was parked close by.

Al approached Voight that was hidden behind a parked car trying to get a good look at the pharmacy. "How do you want to proceed? Burgess and Roman will be here in five minutes".

"Let`s follow him. See where he goes". Voight decided. "Tell Burgess and Roman to stay hidden as they arrive".

Just as he spoke the driver exited the pharmacy with a brown paper bag on his right hand. As he approached the van he suddenly stopped. He looked straight at the detectives' direction for a second before he started running down the street.

Voight wasted no time. He grabbed his gun and shot the man with deadly precision. The bullet hit the man`s back, close to his right shoulder and he fell down hard on the sidewalk.

Al ran to the man and started patting him down. He found a gun at his jacket`s pocket and took it away. After making sure that the man was unarmed Al put handcuffs on him.

Voight approached the man slowly and used his feet to make him turn around. The suspect groaned in pain and closed his eyes.

Voight got down on the floor beside the man. "I`m only going to ask nicely once. Where is the detective you kidnapped?".

The suspect remained silent. His eyes were closed and he seemed to be having trouble breathing.

"Where the fuck is my detective?". Voight yelled at him and pushed the barrel of his gun into the bullet wound.

Grunting in pain the man refused to look at the Sargent. He tried to move around but the pressure on his wound wouldn`t let him do so. "I don`t know what you`re talking about… I was just getting some medicine for my friend…".

"CUT THE BULLSHIT!". Voight yelled at him pressing the gun harder against the bullet wound making blood ooze faster.

"I d-don`t…". Voight interrupted him with a blow to his head.

The rest of the team watched from a safe distance while keeping the civilians away. They would not intervene.

"You can`t do this to me! I have rig—" Another blow to the head cut him off again.

Voight took the gun off the wound and put it directly in from of the man`s face. "I don`t mind killing you right here, right now you piece of shit. I swear I`ll do it if you don`t tell me where she is!".

"Voight!". Jay yelled at him as he walked in their direction with his cellphone on his hand.

"WHAT?!". Voight turned to Halstead clearly not amused at being interrupted. His face was red with anger and his eyes were livid.

"We don`t need him!". Jay pointed to his phone. "I just got a text from a guy that served with me. He knows where Erin is!".

Voight took the gun away from the suspect immediately. "This is your lucky day". He turned to Jay. "Let`s go".

* * *

**Sorry for taking so long to update. I don`t have any excuses. **

**I just kept getting lesser and lesser reviews each chapter and got a little frustrated with the story. I hope you guys still like it. **

**Thanks for the support!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Thank you so much for your support! Each review motivates me to write more! **

**I hope you enjoy this chapter. There is a lot more action in it :)**

* * *

The intelligence group plus Burgess and Roman gathered around Voight close to the address that Mouse had sent to Jay.

Jay grabbed his phone out of the pocket of his vest. "My friend said she is being kept in a room on the left side of the building, third floor. It`s and old office building, four floors and approximately 50 offices. He said there are about ten offenders inside and that they are heavily armed so we`ll need the long guns and extra ammo". Jay showed everyone a picture of Mouse on his phone. "My friend looks like this, so please don`t shoot him if you see him".

Voight nodded at him and started barking orders. "Let`s do this fast, we have the element of surprise on our side and I don`t want to waste any more time. There are only two ways in so I want Atwater to secure the back of the building. Stop at all costs everyone that tries to run away after we breach. I don`t care if you shoot or arrest them, just make them stop because every single one of them is going to pay for this".

"Shouldn`t we wait a few minutes for the blueprints boss?". Ruzek suggested. He hated going in blind, especially when they were outnumbered.

Voight glared at Ruzek with an incredulous look at his face. "Erin could be being tortured right now and we should wait. Right, of course!".

"Sorry I just…".

"Shut it. Burgess stay at the front door, same rules apply. Al, Roman, Ruzek and Antonio, you come with me. We`ll go trough the front door and get Erin out of there. That`s our first priority so shoot at everyone holding a gun and only stop when she is safe outside. Understood?".

Everyone nodded their heads.

"What about me?". Jay asked.

Voight frowned at him and made a weird face as if Jay was asking the stupidest question. "What about you? You stay in the car".

That was the answer Jay feared. "I`ll not-".

Voight stepped towards Jay and got really close to his face. "Yes you will, Halstead!". He started whispering so the rest of the unit wouldn`t hear. "Go wait on the car or I`ll make you do so. You are in no condition to breach that place right now and Erin will kill me if you get injured again. That woman is a nightmare when she gets angry and I do not want to explain to her how I let her moron of a partner get shot".

Erin was a nightmare when angry? _Pot calling the kettle back_. Jay thought with frustration. He ran his left hand through his face and stared at the Sargent.

"Hank…". He tried again.

Voight grabbed him by his vest and started pulling him towards the car. "We are wasting time here, Halstead! Being injured the way you are makes you a liability to the team right now and this take down must be flawless. Go wait inside the fucking car!". He lightly pushed the detective to the direction of the vehicle and turned to the rest of the team. "Let`s go!".

Jay watched as everyone positioned themselves and swore out loud. Voight was right, he would be putting everyone in danger if he breached the place with them. He cursed out loud as he walked to the car. It was his partner inside! His best friend… the girl that made him smile everyday with her quick wit and flirty behavior. They were rescuing Erin and he was told to stay inside the fucking car. He kicked he tire of the car out of anger and got inside the vehicle, closing the door with excessive force.

Voight watched as the detective did as he was told and made a signal for the rest. Everyone silently got in position, long guns in hand. The Sargent took his Glock out of the holster and made a silent signal with his hand. 3…2…1…BAM! Antonio kicked the front door open and Alvin ran inside the building. "CPD! Put your hands up!".

A large man stood still with his mouth open clearly surprised as the police breached the room. It took him a few moments to react and those precious seconds cost him a lot. Before he could yell to warn others or grab his gun the cop was on him, taking him down with a quick punch. He fell hard on the floor and blacked out as the cop swiftly kicked him on the head.

"One down". Alvin whispered to the com inside his ear.

The rest of the unit followed him inside the room. It was an old reception that served as entrance to all of the offices inside the building. The receptionist desk where the man was siting just moments before was dusty, clearly from not being used regularly.

_They must be laying low here after the last events, trying to avoid getting attention from the police_. Voight silently pointed to the long corridor to their left. There were approximately ten doors, five on each side of it and on the end there was the stairs and the elevator. He nodded to the others and got in position. They were going to find Erin at whatever cost.

* * *

Erin was feeling a little better after eating the cereal bars and changing her shirt. She got up from her seat and started roaming around the room they were keeping her looking for anything that could be used as a weapon. Maybe now that she felt a little stronger she could look for a way out of here. She was tired of being the victim.

_You`re too stubborn for your own good. Trust me when I say it will get you killed_. Her father had said to her before he exited the room. _Well, father, go to hell_.

After five minutes she gave up trying to take the wooden boards off the window with her handcuffed hands. There was nothing she could use in the room to help her remove it and the boards were too tightly attached to the window. Her eyes fell on the wooden table and the beige sofa. Maybe she could break the leg of the table or even tear the sofa open and get something out of its structure.

While she contemplated her next move a faint noise got her out of her thoughts. BAM! She ran to the door and put her ear to the wood. "Drop it!". She heard a man shout from a big distance. Oh, God. She recognized that voice: Antonio! They had found her! She could hear gunshots now and immediately positioned herself to the right of the entrance door of the room, leaning against the wall.

Suddenly the door was opened and Matei stepped inside in a hurry. She jumped him in a heartbeat, quickly passing the metallic chord of the handcuffs around the man`s neck and pulling it with all of her force.

After the first surprised seconds Matei managed to slip a hand between the chord and his neck, preventing it to completely choke him. He might be smaller than the other man but he was strong and Erin soon found herself being thrown off him into the hard ground.

Before she could get up he straddled her and punched her hard on the face. Once, twice, three times. Each time her face was thrown to side and each time she felt more lightheaded. She could feel the metallic taste of blood inside her mouth. _Shit_.

Suddenly she felt the weight of the man being lifted up from her body. She opened her eyes with difficulty and watched as the young man that had patched her up fought against Matei. She tried to get up and help him but her head was spinning and she felt like vomiting.

_Who was he? Why was he helping her?_

The two men fought for a full minute before Matei managed to get a knife off his boot and plunge it into the younger man`s stomach. Erin watched in complete panic as he fell on the ground holding his belly. His agonizing eyes made direct contact with hers and he sadly whispered _sorry _before collapsing to the ground unconscious.

She didn`t had a moment to wrap her mind around the events as Matei marched to her direction with a blooded and probably broken nose on his face and a cold stare on his eyes. He grabbed her by the collar of her shirt and made her stand up. Everything immediately started spinning inside her head.

He put the knife with the other man`s blood on her neck and whispered in her ear somberly. "Scream and I`ll slit your throat bitch".

He started dragging her out of the room and into a corridor. She was fighting to keep conscious and hobbled around doing her best to keep up with the man. She could hear gunshots from a distance and prayed that her team was safe.

Matei passed a man in the corridor and nodded to him. He was the one that was carrying the shovel inside the van when they had dumped Jay on the street. The man nodded back and Matei handed Erin to him. They started running down the corridor, turned a sharp left and then a sharp right, the man practically carrying Erin around, as her feet seemed to not be working properly.

They arrived at a metal door and Matei pushed it open getting to the stairs of the building. They dragged her down two floors and then in into another corridor. At the end of it Matei pushed a door open and entered an empty room. He walked to the window and cleaned the dusty glass with his hand with caution. He put his face against the glass and looked outside. Erin tried to get a look too but her vision was swimming and it was hard to focus.

The men started speaking in another language clearly forming a plan of action. Suddenly the driver passed Erin to Matei and broke the window`s glass with his elbow. Erin watched as he put his gun out and shot at something outside. She heard a yelp and then someone started shooting back at them.

After a quick exchange of gunshots the driver seemed to have hit something and turned to Matei with a pleased look on his face. _Oh, no_. The man broke the rest of the glass with his gun and jumped out of the window. They were on the first floor so it was not a long jump. Matei pushed Erin towards the window and after making sure that the other man was waiting below, he pushed her with all of his force without a warning.

She tried to hold on to the window in vain and felt the air rushing out off her lungs, as she fell having no time to scream. Suddenly she was in the strong arms of the driver. He roughly put her on the asphalt floor and waited for Matei to jump.

Erin looked around trying to find anyone that could help her. She considered getting up and running but she went in shock when her eyes made contact with a body laying on the ground ten feet to her right. Atwater was sprawled on the floor laying face down on a pool of his own blood. His eyes were closed and he seemed to not be breathing. He must be the one that the driver had shot through the window.

Before she could do anything or even wrap her mind around the image of her dead colleague, Matei forced her to stand up and pushed her to a parked car. He got inside the back seat with her and the other man got into the drivers seat. Before he could turn the engine on a gunshot hit his window, sending pieces of glass all over his seat.

Erin looked around trying to locate the source of the shot. Her eyes fell on her partner, who was standing a hundred feet away with his gun in his hands. Their eyes made contact and for the first time since she had been kidnaped she felt hope.

* * *

Jay watched as they breached inside the building praying to God that everything went according to the plan. From inside Voight`s car he could hear Al screaming at somebody and then he heard on the device inside his ear Al saying that one criminal was subdued. _One down, nine to go._

His fingers nervously danced around his tights as he watched and waited. Suddenly he heard gunshots. _I need to do something, anything. _

"Spread out!". He head Voight scream at the team.

Making up his mind, Jay got out off the car, took his gun out and walked to Burgess. She was hiding behind a parked car facing the entrance door.

He crouched beside her. "I`ll go around the building, make sure nobody gets out".

"Atwater is already covering the back. Voight told you to stay inside the car". Burgess told him with a disapproving look on her eyes.

"If it was Roman, would you stay inside the car?".

She frowned at him and sighted. "No, I wouldn`t. Just don`t get yourself killed".

He smiled at her briefly, got up and started to go around the building trying to locate Atwater. He could hear more gunshots inside and hoped that everyone was ok._ Clear! Clear! Gun! Clear! _He could hear they shouting as they breached each room inside.

Just as Jay was turning around the corner he heard a few gunshots close to his location. He dropped closer to the ground, hissing as his ribs protested. He walked slowly towards the location of the gunshots.

He got to the corner of the building and peaked quickly. He watched Matei pushing Erin inside a black BMW and another man getting inside the driver`s seat. _Where is Atwater?_ He immediately pointed his gun to the car and shot the driver`s window. It exploded in a million of shards of glass.

Jay watched as the surprised group inside the car turned to look at him. He locked eyes with Erin and a strong sense of relief washed over him. She was alive! His eyes scanned her bloodied face and he got angry. Well, right now it didn't matter. She was alive!

That warm feeling lasted a few seconds only to be interrupted by the driver turning the car on. The man that was driving turned the vehicle around and sped towards Jay. The detective considered shooting the windshield of the vehicle, but decided against it since he could easily hit Erin from that angle.

As the car approached him in top speed Jay jumped out of its way and ran to Voight's car. He was not letting them take her again. He turned the engine on, turned the police lights on and sped after the other vehicle. Soon they were going over 100 miles/hour on a small and busy street, cutting other cars and running red lights.

Jay could feel the adrenaline pulsing through his veins. "Lincoln 50-21 in pursuit of a black BMW X3 at W North Avenue towards I90. Requesting immediate backup". He shouted to the police radio. They had agreed to keep this internal until now, but if he saved Erin it would not matter anymore.

"Copy that Lincoln 50-21. Backup is on the way".

Pleased, Jay focused all of his attention on following the other car. They turned right on a big intersection and got on the ramp to the I90. Soon they were speeding through it.

Matei suddenly put his arm out of the window and started shooting Jay's car. _Crazy son of a…_ A bullet hit the windshield but was stopped by the bulletproof glass. If it the car was not bulletproof the bullet would have hit Jay`s chest.

They maneuvered around other cars and Matei began to shoot Jay's car again. While he was focused on Jay he did not noticed that Erin had positioned herself right behind him. For a second time that day she put the metal chain of the handcuffs around Matei's neck and pushed. This time she was expecting his strength and positioned herself in a way Matei was not able to hit her or stop her. While hearing him choking, she pushed the chain with all her strength, using her body to add weight to it. Her damaged wrist began to hurt like hell with the pressure from the handcuff but it did not stop her. She needed to help Jay.

* * *

**Soooo how was it? I kind of felt like it was time for the team to find Erin. We`re going to find out if the rescue attempt was successful on the next chapter. Will she subdue Matei and the driver so Jay can rescue her OR will they fight her and end up crashing the car? Either way this story is not close to the end. Next chapter more Mouse, more explanations and, most importantly, MORE LINSTEAD!**

**p.s. ****I`m so sorry for Atwater! I like him on the show, just wanted to add a little drama and reality to the story. **


	8. Chapter 8

**Hello! I'm back from the dead with another chapter. Sorry for dropping the ball for a while. **

**Your kind reviews asking me to continue it changed my mind. **

**I hope you enjoy it! **

* * *

Matei fought with the chain for a few more moments before passing out. Erin automatically grabbed the gun from his limp hand and pushed his body away. She jumped to the other side of the car and put the gun directly to the driver's head.

"Stop the car!". She yelled at him, pressing the gun harder to his temple to make her point.

The driver hesitated for a few seconds weighting his options. He looked at her determined expression on the review mirror and gulped.

"Stop this car right now or I swear I`ll shoot your brains out!".

"All right, all right. I`ll stop". He finally started slowing the vehicle down.

As he completely stopped the car on the roadside, Jay was right behind them. He parked Voight`s car right behind the BMW and got out, gun in hand. Erin could see him approaching from the door mirror.

"Get out of the car!". She commanded to the driver.

The man put his left hand on the doorknob but he did not open it. In a second, he decided against it and jumped Erin, throwing his full force into the arm that was holding the gun to his head. Erin immediately fired but the bullet did not hit the driver`s head as he had pushed the gun aside. The man tried to grab the gun out of her hands again and her injured wrist did not help much as they fought for it. After a few tense moments he managed to turn the weapon around and point it straight to Erin`s chest. _Oh God…_

BAM!

Erin stood still for a few seconds waiting for the blinding pain. One second, two seconds, three seconds… it never came. She watched in shock the driver`s body collapse in slow motion to the passenger seat, a bullet wound to his head. He was dead. Her mouth opened as her brain fought to comprehend what just happened.

She looked to her side and her eyes fell on Jay. He was pointing his gun to the now dead man. He had saved her life. Jay immediately ran to the car, ready to subdue Matei. He opened the back door and sighted in relief as he found a passed out Matei lying right beside Erin. His eyes found hers and they stood still for a few moments. Cristal blue met forest green and both of them hold their breath.

Without another word and without breaking eye contact Jay entered the back of the car and hugged her, careful to not hurt her any more. His arms enveloped her with so much love, so much relief that they completely lost track of time. They could have hugged for a minute or an hour, neither would know for sure. She inhaled his perfume combined with the smell of his leather jacket and finally felt safe. One day she would have to confess to him that she loved his smell.

They were alive, they were together and they had survived. There were so many things they wanted to say to each other but neither spoke a single word. They just stood there, holding each other and feeling the heat from their bodies combined. It was of those bigger-than-life moments, one that they would carry forever engraved in their minds and hearts.

As they heard sirens approaching from afar, Jay let go of her and put some distance between them. His eyes scanned her roughed appearance quickly and he tensed up. Erin thought he was going to say something about it or ask if she was all right but he just stood there looking straight into her eyes. Without a warning, Jay pushed his head forward and captured her lips with his. His lips were soft and warm against her bruised and bloodied ones. It took Erin a few seconds to close her eyes and respond but as soon as she did Jay put his hands on each side of her face and kissed her with more passion.

It felt too different and too important to be labeled as 'just a kiss'. No, this was something else. It was all of the flirting, worrying and desiring bottled and displayed in one single act of extreme passion. It made her stomach do a cartwheel and her heart explode inside her chest. She was kissing Jay Halstead and it felt God damn right.

Just as abruptly as he started the kiss her he stepped away, leaving her desiring more - more of his taste, of his soft lips, of his sweet smell and of his warm love. She opened her eyes and found a loopy smile on his lips.

"Sorry, I just couldn`t wait any longer". He said.

Erin opened her mouth with every intention of telling him he had nothing to be sorry about but was interrupted by the circus around them. They got so lost in the intimate moment that they missed the arrival of four patrol cars and an ambulance. Jay looked back at her with panic in his eyes. _Did anyone see the kiss?_ He got out of the back seat as the police officers approached and Erin instantly felt the loss of the heat of his body and also got out of the car, standing on shaky legs. On that exact moment she didn`t care if anyone saw the kiss or not. In the light of everything that had happened she couldn`t care less about it.

"Detective Halstead, 21st district. Call the coroner and another ambulance; we have a body on the front seat and one offender passed out on the back seat". He instructed the officers that had arrived. "Get the paramedics here, we have an injured officer".

As Erin watched him giving orders she suddenly felt dizzy. The adrenaline was wearing off and she was starting to feel the pain from her injuries. Her head was swimming and this time it was not because of her partner, she was reaching her limit.

"J-Jay". Erin called, her voice strained. Her knees almost buckled and she tried to hold on the car door but she felt too week, so she sat back on the back seat of the car.

Jay turned and ran to her side. "Erin?". She focused on his blue eyes for a few seconds before closing hers and collapsing back. "I NEED A DOCTOR RIGHT NOW!".

* * *

When Erin regained conscience, the first thing she noticed was a distant beep sound. _Beep, beep, beep_. _A heart monitor? A hospital?_ _What the hell? _Suddenly everything that happened came back to her. She could see flashes of memory dancing through her distressed mind: the warehouse, Yoel, the van, her father, the car chase, _the kiss_… and then nothing more, just blank. _What happened?_ She tried to open her eyes, but her eyelids where too heavy. She tried to move her hands but her body was no responding. _Oh God_. The heart monitor started to beep faster.

"Hey kiddo". She would never mistake that husky voice. "Take it slowly. You are in the hospital. Everything is ok".

"H-Hank?". Her voice was as raspy as his was since her throat was extremely dry. He seemed to read her thoughts and put a cup of water to her lips. The cold liquid feel extremely good.

"Can you open your eyes?".

She tried again and this time she was able to. Her pupils took a few seconds to adjust to the brightness of the room but soon she could see his face. He was smiling at her (as much as Hank Voight was able to smile).

"Hi". She said. Simple as that, as if this was a normal situation.

"Hi". His trained eyes quickly scanned her expression. "Are you feeling any pain?".

She took a moment to think about it. She was feeling sore, but no aching pain, no headache, no nausea. "No".

He grunted in response and she could read from the faint smile on the corner of his mouth that he was satisfied with that answer.

Her eyes finally left his and went straight to her left hand. There was a white cast around her wrist from the base of her fingers to almost her elbow. It finish right where the white horrible gown from the hospital started. Why does hospital gowns always have to be extremely ugly? You are already feeling awful for being stuck at a hospital; couldn't they at least dress you a little better? Maybe with something that covered your naked butt and helped you keep your modesty?

Hank seemed to have followed her eyes. "It's broken. Tree weeks with the cast on, then a month of physiotherapy and it should be good as new". He informed her. "A plastic surgeon stitched the cut on your face so it will leave no scar and you have a mild concussion".

Right now, she was alive and that was all that mattered. She did not care about scars and a broken wrist. She honestly thought that she was going to die so anything was better than that.

Her eyes found his again and she noticed for the first time a small bondage on the left side of his head. He also looked worn out with visible dark circles under his eyes contrasting with a pale tone of skin. "Are you ok?".

"Me?". He almost smiled at her silly question. She just woke up in the hospital and was already concerned about his wellbeing. He pointed to the bondage. "One of them got to me when we entered the warehouse. It's nothing, Al shot him. What about you, how are you feeling?".

He left the question hanging in the air. Another silly question and both of them knew it. How could she answer it? She honestly was not sure about her feelings. She needed some time to think about it. "I`m fine".

Hank grunted again, this time sounding pissed with her short and unconvincing answer. She dispersed for a moment thinking that it was amazing that she had learned to interpret all of his grunting noises. "Like hell you are. Those bastards did a good number on you".

She smiled at him. Scary-as-hell Sargent Voight would always be protective of his family and she would always feel a little happy about it. It showed that he cared. "I am fine, Hank; I`m alive and you`re alive. We are both here having this lovely conversation, so nothing else matters. Bruises will heal".

The anger dissipated from his voice. "I think they exaggerated on your pain medicine, you sound a little loopy. The Erin Lindsay I know would never say cute things like that".

"Shut up". She rolled her eyes, enjoying the easy banter.

"Now you sound more like yourself!". He joked and took her right hand on his calloused one, his expression turning serious again. "You gave me a hell of a scare kid".

She gazed down; feeling ashamed even though she knew it was not her fault. "I`m sorry".

"Don't apologize. The only one that will be apologizing is that son of a bitch that we caught".

"Matei?". She asked.

Voight nodded in response. "He is waiting for me in the cage".

"Good". She offered and then waited a few moments to speak again. Should she tell Hank about her father? Yes, yes she should. To hell with him! She owed him nothing. "Hank, there is something you need to know. There was someone there, someo-"

"Your father". He bluntly interrupted her. "Mouse told us about him."

"Mouse?". She asked confused.

"The blonde guy that tried to save you. He knows Jay from the army and recognized you. He told us where they were keeping you". Hank explained shortly. He was still on the fence about Mouse. The young man had helped them find Erin but, on the other hand, he was working for those men in exchange of money in the first place. He just helped them because he recognized Erin as Jay`s partner. If it were other girl being kept there, he would probably have kept his mouth shut. For now Voight was abstracting that fact but he still wanted to talk to the guy after.

"Is he alright? Matei took him out back there".

"Yeah. He is being released from this hospital just as we speak. He has a concussion too".

Erin digested that information. Mouse knew Jay? "And what about Jay?".

Voight eyed her cautiously. He seemed to want to say something else but then he gave up. "Halstead is fine. I had to kick him out so he could go home take a shower. I bet you he'll be back soon".

She smiled softly, images of the kiss invading her mind. "Are his ribs broken?".

"Yeah. Three are broken. However, as I said, he is fine. He's staying at the house".

That shocked her. _WHAT?_ "House… as in _your_ house?".

Hank kept his blank mask in place. "He needed someone to look after him while he recovered from a light concussion". He said, as the fact that he had taken care of Jay was not important.

She looked stunned for a few moments. "Thank you, Hank". He eyed her with curiosity. "For taking care of him... thank you".

Voight was surprised by her openness. Erin normally was really closed off about the man in her life. She never introduced one to him to a boyfriend and usually did not let him ask questions. Now she was practically confessing that she cared a lot about Halstead and that maybe they had something going on.

Hank did not know what to say. He wasn't completely against it, but he did not liked it either. He opted to nod his head in response and change the subject for now.

"Look, about your father, I swear to God that I`ll find that man and make him pay for this. He will regret every bruise, every—".

"Erin!". Nadia exclaimed at the door interrupting Voight. "You`re awake!". She was carrying a duffle bag and had the warmest smile on her face. She dropped the bag on the floor, ran to Erin`s bed and hugged her tightly, completely forgetting that Erin was hurt.

"Ouch". Erin protested with a happy smile on her lips.

"Oh, sorry". Nadia let her go.

"Hi, Nadia". Erin smiled at the girl. She was glad to see her.

"I`ve been SO worried about you. I`ve cleaned the apartment three times since you were taken, I didn`t know what else to do".

Hank watched the two of them talking and decided it was time to go home. He wanted to talk to Halstead before the detective made his way back to the hospital. They needed to discuss a few important things.

* * *

He promised that he would be back soon to visit and left. He got into his car and drove directly to his home. As he approached the house, he noticed Halstead's car parked at the entrance. Good, he was still there.

"Halstead!". He called as he entered his living room, closing the door behind.

"I just got out of the shower, I'll be right down". Came a voice from upstairs.

Hank took off his leather jacket and poured a glass of whiskey for himself. _What a day_, he thought as he sit down on the sofa and waited for the detective. His eyes traveled around the room and fixed on a picture frame on top of the fireplace. It was a picture of his marriage day. Camille looked young, happy and extremely beautiful. He, on the other side, looked nervous and tense. He remembered that day as if it was yesterday. He was so afraid of the whole ceremony. He was a young cop, fresh from the academy and he was marring the prettiest and most amazing girl he had ever seen. He was afraid that it was all a dream and that soon the other shoe was going to drop. In the end it never did. He got to live years with the girl of his dreams, had a kid with her and adopted another one. They were happy and they were in love. Shouldn't he be wishing that for Erin? Shouldn't he be happy that she found a nice guy to share her life with?

He got lost in his own thoughts and missed Halstead descending the stairs. The detective called him yo announce his arriving. "Are you alright, boss?".

"Yeah. Got lost for a minute". He watched as Jay started to panic, clearly misinterpreting his distraction.

"Is Erin alright?".

"Yeah, she woke up an hour ago".

Jay opened his mouth and then closed it, his expression quickly turning from worried to angry. "And you didn't call me?". He started to look around for his car keys and leather jacket. He found them on the coffee table to Voight's left.

"Don't even think about driving, Halstead. You can't drive a car with three broken ribs and a small concussion. You were already crazy to drive here".

"Watch me". Jay said as he hurried out of the house, pissed that no one had warned him about Erin waking up. He wanted to be there when that happened.

"I want to talk to you". Voight said, his voice so deep and serious that made Jay immediately stop on his tracks. He looked back to his boss and tried to read his face but the man was impossible to read. Jay sighted and walked back to the living room.

"I'll only say it once, so hear me carefully". Hank got up from the couch and stood tall in front of his detective. "I don't tolerate in house romance".

Jay looked astonished. After everything that happened Voight was playing the tough boss and tough father? "Unbeliev…-".

"But I know she cares about you; and after this horrible experience I noticed that you care a lot about her too. Therefore, you take good care of her Halstead or I'll kill you. That is a promise".

Jay was too surprised to form a cohesive answer.

"And no cuddling at work or I'll will transfer your ass so fast to railway police that you won't even know what happened before you start pulling old ladies over for wrong-way driving".

Jay remained silent. _What? Was this some kind of permission to date Erin?_

"Now go get a cab to the hospital".

Jay managed to find his tong. "Thank you".

"Go, Halstead. Before I change my mind".

Before Hank could even blink Jay was out of the door signaling for a cab.

* * *

As Jay approached Erin's room, he could hear Nadia's voice. She was animatedly talking to Erin about a TV show. Something about clones? Something about "project Castor"?

He knocked lightly on the door and entered the room. His belly danced as he saw her expression lightening up when her eyes found his. She smiled at him.

"Jay".

"Couldn't you have waited for me to be back before waking up, sleeping beauty?". He joked to lighten the mood. If he was being honest to himself, he did not know what to say to her right now. Did she enjoy the kiss? What was she thinking?

Nadia seemed to notice that they had a lot to discuss. She got up from the chair beside Erin hospital bed and started gathering her things.

"You don't need to go, Nadia". Erin told her, trying to be polite. She loved Nadia's company and was grateful for it, but she needed to speak with Jay.

"Yeah I do, before prince charming here starts to kiss you just to make sure sleeping beauty is indeed awake". She joked and left the room in a hurry, hoping to get out before Erin's response.

Jay closed the door and approached the bed slowly. Erin watched him from the bed, clearly trying to read his expression.

Both had so many things they wanted to say and neither knew how to start. Were they on the same page? What was the meaning of that kiss?

"How are you feeling?".

"Much better… thanks to you".

They stood still, watching each other as the air in the room started to get dense. This was somewhat funny; they usually never shut up around each other but now were in loss of words. He ran a hand through his short hair and opened a crooked smile as a brilliant idea crossed his mind.

She watched with curiosity as he fished something out of his hoodie pocket. It was an iPhone. He approached her bed and sat on the chair beside it.

"What are you doing?". Erin asked as he opened the YouTube app on the phone.

"I`m showing you the new Star Wars trailer". He said, keeping the smile on his face.

She laughed a little. Every other man would go straight to the white elephant on the room, but Jay knew her too well. They had time to talk about everything. Right now, they needed lightness. The video started to play on the small screen. "Nerd".

"Shut up and watch it".

* * *

**How was it?**

**Do you want me to keep going? :)**


	9. Chapter 9

**Hello, here is another chapter. Sorry for the wait. I hope you enjoy it!**

**Oh, and thank you so much for the kind reviews. I have a very busy schedule and knowing that you like the story honestly push me to find some time to write more. **

**For those of you asking for more drama and danger, I think you are going to like what I have planned for the next chapters :)**

* * *

"Kevin Atwater was an excellent detective, an incredible brother and a respectful man". The overflow of mourners stood under black umbrellas while Antonio Dawson conducted the memorial. The rain was falling nonstop, washing over the precinct walls and making large puddles on the ground. "His big size used to intimidate others, but all of his friends and family knew that the he was one of the kindest man on earth. He had and amazing heart and loved his job more than anything in the world. The little boy from one of the toughest neighborhoods of Chicago followed his dreams and became a police officer…".

Jay watched as Erin wiped a tear with the corner of a handkerchief. She was trying her hardest not to cry, pretending to be the strong woman everyone was used to. Since the day of the rescue, there had been a lot of that: pretending. She pretended to be emotionally fine, while he could still see that she was hurting inside. She pretended that her injuries had healed but he could see that she still had difficulties to move around with the cast and used a lot of make up to cover the fading bruises on her face. She pretended that she did not care that her father got away but Jay had noticed her stiff posture every time his name was mentioned. She pretended that she wasn't too much affected by Atwater's death but he could see behind the mask. She blamed herself for it, believing that it was her fault.

She was deluding herself if she thought that she was doing a good job hiding her true emotions from him. He could see right through her deception. He was an expert in Erin Lindsay from being her partner for so long and caring so deeply. He knew she put up too many walls and he knew the way to get past them.

However, this time things were different. He was as concerned as he was hurt by her facade. As a part of her I-am-tough act, she chose to pretend that the kiss had not happened. She had dragged their relationship right back to the only partners territory. Jay thought that by giving her space she would come around. He had not mentioned the kiss and the love declaration, hoping that one day she would want to talk about it. Nevertheless, to his dismay, she remained silent, acting as everything was completely normal.

On the other side, to easy his frustration, he could feel that there was a different light in her eyes when she looked at him. He could feel the lingering touches and the warmth of her voice. She was showing that she cared and taking down some of the thick walls that protected her heart but every time he tried to take another step in the romantic direction, she lightly shut him down. She was sending him mixed signals, making him uneasy about their relationship.

Jay chose to believe that she was doing it not because she was not interested in a romantic relationship, but because she was confused, overwhelmed with everything that had happened in the last few days. She was emotionally and physically exhausted so he would wait for her to be ready. He promised himself that he would give her more space even if he yearned to touch her, to kiss her, to say that he loved her.

His eyes scanned her police uniform, noticing that she had lost a few pounds. The fabric was a little looser around her lithe body. That did not concerned him much because he had lost some weight too from all the stress.

His ribs were still hurting like hell even with the painkillers, making it difficult to do easy things like walk and breathe. His bruises were still evident, staring straight at him when he looked in the mirror. A constant reminder of what they both just went through. Sleeping was not easy, since the memories from the last days were hunting his dreams, keeping him awake almost every night since the kidnapping.

Adding all of that to the frustration of worrying about Erin's take on their relationship status was driving him almost crazy. Almost.

Antonio finished his speech and returned to the crowd of officers. He was visibly emotional, almost as emotional as he had been at Jules memorial. The chief walked towards the wall and said another couple of words, promising that Atwater's death had not been in vain, that they were investigating it and that the people responsible would pay.

Jay wanted to believe in him, but he knew that they did not have much to go on. Matei had kept his mouth shut and Voight was waiting a few more days to question the man himself. Right now, the media attention to the case was making it impossible to bend the law a little bit. Mouse had given them a deposition explaining that they had come to him, asking for his hacking services. They offered a lot of money asking him to make a few money trails disappear. He told Ruzek that when he had accepted the offer he genuinely believed that they were only making illegal bank transactions. Once he had gotten more involved with the gang, he discovered some interesting information: the money was coming from a nonprofit organization that was partly founded by the government. Mouse started digging around but did not discover much more. Fifteen million dollars came every month to a freshly opened account and was transferred trough a chain of other bank accounts. Mouse's job was to make the money untraceable before finally transferring it to a single account in Romania.

With that information, the Intelligence unit used Mouse's abilities to find that Romania account again. When they did, it was completely empty. The gang must be covering their tracks and erasing everything.

Once Voight had learned there was a possibility of the US Government being involved in some way, he had shut the whole investigation down. He told them to wait for the media to back off and advised all of them to take a few personal days to recover from Atwater's death.

Jay was not as involved as he wanted to be. He had not been to the precinct since before finding Erin and did not get to talk to Mouse. He had stayed with her in the hospital for three days. Voight came at night and Jay went straight to his apartment to get a good night of sleep, knowing she was safe with the Sargent. Next day he would be back to the hospital setting Voight free from his duty.

They had never left Erin alone since the accident much to her frustration. Voight had been very clear about that: You cannot be alone as your father could still be around waiting to do something. Therefore, for three days they performed that routine: Voight had the night shift and Jay the day shift. Nadia would come by and entertain Erin whenever she was able to. Platt had visited and brought some pie; Ruzek and Burgess visited together and Antonio came by two times. Al visited every day for a couple of minutes, always kind and generous. Each time any one of them came Jay and Erin grilled them about the case. They wanted news, details, information about the plan of action.

After missing Atwater's funeral, Erin had begged the doctors to let her go to Atwater's memorial and they complied. They prescribed a few painkillers to the broken arm and scheduled a checkup appointment. Jay was happy that she was getting out of that horrible obscenely impersonal room. Being with her there every day was driving him crazy but at least he could go home when Voight arrived to stay with her. He could not imagine how eager she was to finally set a foot outside that antiseptic smelling place.

Now, watching her reaction to the memorial Jay was not so sure anymore that this was a good idea. She was struggling to keep control of her emotions but she was not doing a good job. Everyone could see that she was afflicted, fighting with an invisible guilt that no one but herself thought it made sense.

* * *

Erin Lindsay was a mess. She looked like a mess and she felt like a mess. She hid the bruises and acted tough but she knew that she was not fooling anyone. Voight had been a pile of nerves and worry for the last few days, acting as he used to when he first took her in, assuming the role of the over-protective, suffocating father. He never let her be alone and was constantly checking over his shoulder. He was afraid that her biological father would do something foolish and he was afraid that she would not handle the pressure and crumble down.

On the other side, she had a very nervous Jay. She could feel the worry and frustration radiating from his body even when he was trying hard to hide it. She could feel his eyes on her direction and made herself not look at him.

Why was she pushing Jay away? To be honest, she was not sure of the answer. She could sense his frustration and disappointment. They had processed their love for each other and then sealed it with a kiss. Not just any kiss, an earth-shattering life-awakening kiss. And now she was pretending that it never happened.

That made her feel disappointed with herself. She was letting Jay down and even letting herself down. However, how could her be selfish enough to focus on her love life right now? Atwater was dead. Her father was on the run. The more they dug on the case, the more complicated things got. The idea of being happy with Jay right now sounded so egoistical and narcissistic that she refrained herself from acting on her feelings.

The most logical solution for their dilemma was to wait. Cool it until everything was normal again and that horrible last days were nothing but a distant memory. Right? Or, no? Was she making a horrible mistake? Was she ruining everything?

Pushing that inner conflict aside, she focused back on the memorial. Atwater was like a little brother to her - a little annoying brother. He and Ruzek used to make fun of her, throw things at her and annoy her to hell. They were always mocking her proximity with Jay, calling them out on it, making bets on whenever they had slept together already or not. But he was part of their family. More than that, he was a young and competent officer, always ready for some action.

Now he was dead because of her. All of his dreams, ambitions and hopes thrown away in an attempt to save her life. Her life… the life of an ex-addict whose father was behind some kind of fraud or money laundering scam. That was the worst part. Atwater deserved to live so much more than she did…

The guilt and shame consumed her thoughts as she watched the rest of the memorial service. As the commander stepped down and revealed the plaque specially made in Atwater's honor, Erin could not take it any longer. She stepped back from the crowd of officers that gathered on the front of the district building and distanced herself as fast as she could without calling much attention.

She heard footsteps behind her but kept walking. She crossed the street and turned around the corner swiftly. The footsteps were still following her. Now that nobody could see her, she abruptly turned around. "JAY! Can't you…-". She started yelling, the desperation engulfing her raspy voice.

To her complete surprise, Antonio Dawson stood before her. He looked taken back from her outburst but quickly composed himself. He took a step closer, keeping his full attention on her. "You can't do that to yourself". His tone was harsh, reprimanding.

She was at a loss of words to answer him.

"When Jules died I almost spiraled out of control. I loved and respected her as a friend and as a work partner. After we got Diego back, I could not sleep anymore, blaming myself and thinking that I should have protected her better. One day I drank so much that Laura had to take me to the hospital to get some glycose into my blood. After that day, I realized that it was fruitless. Blaming myself would not bring her back. She knew of the risks. She understood the dangers of being a police officer. She died with honor and I'm proud that I got the chance to be her partner. There is not a day on this job that I don't miss her".

"Antonio…". Erin tried to argue but he cut her off by grabbing her uninjured hand. His hand was bigger than hers was and he used it to keep her firmly in place. It was as if he was making sure that she was listening to the honesty of his words.

"I can see the guilt consuming you and right now you gotta promise me that you're not going down that path. It's a freaking rabbit hole, Erin. Atwater knew the risk and he chose this profession any way. Don't take the honor away from his death by thinking that it was your fault".

Erin could only stare at his dark eyes, feeling completely exposed. "Go back there with me and let's pay our tributes to him. Then we start looking for the people truly responsible for his death. That's what he would have wanted… not this".

He finally let go of her hand and started walking back in the direction of the memorial, an open invite for her to follow. Erin took a few seconds to process his words and then, without wasting any time, she walked after him.

* * *

To Erin's surprise, Voight had asked Jay to take her home after Atwater's memorial. She protested, asking to go upstairs to check how the investigation was going but Voight had been adamant about her going to her apartment. "Go to your apartment and pack a bag. You're going to stay with me for a couple of days. Jay will stay with you until I come pick you up later", he had ordered.

She knew that arguing was fruitless, so she complied. Jay opened the door to her apartment with his spare key. They had changed spare keys after working together for 6 months in case anything bad happened. He put down the duffle bag that Nadia had packed for Erin on the couch and went straight to the refrigerator.

Erin walked inside slowly, letting her eyes get used to her living space after so many days away from it. She sighted, noticing that Nadia had not taken a good care of the place. She could see a pile of unwashed dishes beside the sink and Nadia's gym bag over the coffee table. She had not taken out the trash and had left her dirty running shoes beside the door. That girl could be SO messy sometimes… But Erin loved having her around. She was a great person and a great friend.

Jay came back with a beer and sat himself down on the sofa. He was used to being inside her apartment since they usually watched Breaking Bad marathons every Wednesday nights there. He patted the cushion beside his body and Erin immediately sat there.

"Don't I get a beer?". She asked, pointing to his Budweiser.

"Nope". He simply answered and drank another long gulp of the ice-cold amber liquid, openly teasing her.

She frowned. "Well, can I at least get a sip from yours? I think I deserve it after this day".

"Nope". He told her and lifted his eyelids in defiance, clearly enjoying the situation. She narrowed her eyes at him. "You can't mix alcohol with the painkillers you are taking".

"I'm not taking any painkillers". She nonchalantly said and watched his reaction, her green eyes searching for every micro-expression displayed on his face.

He looked honestly surprised. "What? Since When?"

"Since I woke up on that hospital bed and asked the nurse to stop with the medication". She stared straight into his ocean blue eyes and chose to be completely honest and open with him. If they wanted to have a relationship after everything was over, she wanted to remind him of her dark past. She wanted him to see her every flaw, to see that she was not perfect, that she was broken. If he still wanted to be with her after it, maybe their happiness deserved a shot. "I'm an ex-addict, Jay. You saw my file. I can't take any heavy painkillers for a long period of time because I am inclined to develop addiction to them".

He still looked surprised. Maybe from the information she just relied to him or maybe because she was being so open about it.

"That arm must be killing you". He pointed at her cast and she could not read any disgust, accusation or distrust from his face, only fondness.

She smiled at him. "It's not that bad. Can I have some beer now?".

He mischievously smiled back, accepting the change of subject. "Nope. This is mine and it's the last one from your fridge". He quickly gulped the rest of the cold liquid and put the empty bottle down on the coffee table.

She was stunned for a few seconds. Firstly because of his easiness with her past and secondly with his audacity to drink her last beer without giving her even a little sip. "Ah, come on Halstead. I'm injured here, I deserve special care".

His pupils immediately dilated a little as his mind went straight to the gutter. "If you ask nicely, I could take really good care of you". He said, his voice laced with a dark and lusty component to it that she had never witnessed before. It boiled her blood and made her stomach do a cartwheel. He was good at this. _Too good_.

"Oh, really?". She sarcastically challenged him after regaining control of her emotions.

"Yeah, really. I could start with some massage… but I would have to take that uniform off your body in order to get better access…".

She scoffed, pretending to be offended with his flirting. He gently put a hand on her shoulder and slowly dragged it down her right arm. She was unable to stop him, too stunned at the electricity of his touch. Goosebumps covered her skin, making it impossible to hide the effect that it was having on her. She was hypnotized.

What were they doing? They were just at Atwater's memorial. She just had made the choice to wait until the case was over.

_This is not a good idea. This is not a good idea. This is not a good idea. This is… _The thoughts dissipated from her mind as she lost herself completely on his gentle and electrifying touch.

"Jay…". She quietly protested, her voice almost inaudible. A very week last attempt to do not cross the invisible line that they had stipulated so long ago.

Jay felt his blood pumping through his veins as he watched her say his name. Why wasn't she pushing him away? It started as just as their usual flirty banter, but quickly elevated to something more. Her body language was clearly displaying that she wanted it as much as he did. She was unconsciously licking her lips and staring into his lips, her pupils dilated with lust.

Wasn't he supposed to give her some space? Wasn't she supposed to stop him? What if… Suddenly he kissed her without any warning. Straight on the mouth. With so much passion, that it left both of them dizzy. He pushed his thong around her lips asking for permission to enter and she quickly granted it.

Her uninjured hand found its way to his hair and she ran her fingers through it. Jay's hand slipped from her arm to her waist and he slowly pushed her back against the sofa. His ribs protested but he ignored it, too absorbed on the kiss to care.

Two battered bodies so close to each other that you could not distinguish where one began and where on ended. Two broken souls bonding in a way that sucked all the air out of the apartment. The heat from their connection was consuming every thought, every doubt. Neither lost any more time dwelling about right or wrong. This was happening and it felt good and right, just like their first kiss after Erin's rescue.

He disconnect their mouths only to swiftly take his shirt out, lusting at the way her eyes got darker as she appreciated his toned torso. _Oh God_, he had imagined this moment so many times and real life was still a hundred times better.

Suddenly, he watched her expression go straight from lust to horror. Her body froze beneath him, almost in shock. The sudden change of behavior caught him off guard.

"Jay…". Her eyes were big, filled with sorrow. She hesitantly touched his torso with her uninjured hand and he finally understood. Her delicate fingers traced the black and blue bruises that tainted his creamy skin. "You said you were ok".

"It's nothing". He told her, a sloppy smile covering his lips. He could see the guilt on her expression. "And it's definitely not your fault".

She was not paying attention. Her eyes were fixed on the damage. "I am so sorry".

"Erin, don't. If you start paying attention to my bruises, I will start to pay attention to yours and it will ruin the moment. I absolutely hate to see you hurt like this. It make by blood boil inside my veins. But we are here and we are alive and right now I want to celebrate it".

She finally adverted her eyes from his chest and fixed them on his. He took that as a sign to move on and instantly captured her lips again. Jay's expert hands undid the button of her shirt and he threw both shirts on the ground somewhere.

His lips traveled to collarbone, giving sloppy open mouth kisses on the way. She moaned beneath him and his heart skip a beat. He took his sweet time feeling the contrast of her soft skin and his wet lips before hungrily moving on to her right breast.

A loud noise interrupted the make out session, completely dragging both officers from dreamland into the real world. As they lifted their heads to look at the direction of the disturbance, the door from Erin's apartment exploded into a million shards of wood.

* * *

**Uh, oh. :O**

**NEST CHAPTER: expect more drama, more action and more Linstead running for their lives.**

**Please leave a review telling me if you liked the chapter. I put on the other chapters some references to TV shows that I like (Friends, Dexter, etc). Do you have any special requests? **


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